HV 

8334 


UC-NRLF 


1887 

DOCUMENTS 
OEPT. 


HND. 

L 


v 


\ 


REPORT 


OF     THE 


OF     THR 


iirs  of  to 


•  -  • 

'        O'       :     - 

4,     *.    '  * 


INDIANAPOLIS: 

WM.  B.  BURFORD,  CONTRACTOR  FOR  STATE   PRINTING  AND  BINDING. 

1887 


r 

/ 

DOCUMENTS 
DEPT. 


.  :.;  ."••' 

COMMITTEE  REPORT. 


Your  Committee  on  the  Affairs  of  the  State  Prison  South, 
pursuant  to  instructions,  have  made  an  investigation  of  the 
management  and  condition  of  said  institution,  and  beg  leave  to 
submit  the  following  report: 

Your  Committee  secured  the  services  of  Mr.  J.  W.  Coons, 
an  expert  accountant,  who,  having  been  first  duly  sworn,  in 
connection  with  your  Committee,  proceeded  to  examine  the 
financial  management  and  condition  of  said  Prison.  We  find 
that  the  books  are  kept,  and  have  been  for  years,  in  a  manner 
utterly  unlike  those  of  an  ordinary  business  establishment. 
There  is  no  general  ledger,  journal  or  blotter  showing  the  re- 
ceipts and  disbursements.  There  is  no  system  whatever  in  the 
manner  of  book-keeping.  It  does  not  even  show  in  any  one 
account  the  money  received  from  the  State  Treasury  for  the 
maintenance  of  said  institution ;  nor  are  separate  accounts 
kept  with  the  contractors  of  the  convict  labor,  from  which  the 
Prison  derives  its  earnings,  and  in  order  to  ascertain  the  con- 
dition of  these  accounts,  it  becomes  necessary  to  go  back  to 
previous  months  on  a  book,  named  "  Time  Book,"  and  add  the 
several  amounts  there  charged,  and  in  many  instances  marked 
"partly  paid." 

»A.  J.  Howard,  Warden,  under  oath,  testified  as  follows  : 
"  As  Warden  of  the  Southern  State  Prison  of  Indiana,  I  am 
illing  to  and  do  admit  that  the  books  of  the  Southern  State 
rison  show  a  greater  amount  due  the  State,  greater  than  I 
can  now  account  for,  and  more  than  1  am  able  or  willing  to 
pay,  believing  as  I  do  that  the  books  are  incorrect,  and  that  I 
am  entitled  to  credits  which  the  books  do  not  show." 

We  find  that  the  books  were  under  the  control  of  Mr.  A.  J. 
Howard,  Warden,  and  the  evidence  discloses  the  fact  that  Mr. 
M.  I.  Huette,  Clerk  of* the  Prison,  was  prohibited  from  making 


entries  on  the  cash  book,  save  as  permitted  arid  directed  to  da 
so  by  the  Warden  in  person.  It  is  also  in  evidence  that  entries 
in  said  c?sh  book  were  made  of  bills  as  paid,  when  in  fact  they 
were  not  paid,  such  entries  being  made  for  exhibit  to  the  Direct- 
ors, ancl  that  the  Cleik,  in  order  to  know  the  true  financial 
status  of  the  Institution,  kept  a  private  ledger  for  himself. 

The  short  time  your  Committee  was  able  to  give  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  books  and  accounts  prevented  it  from  making 
a  thorough  examination  of  them.  From  our  examination,  we 
find  the  following : 

RECEIPTS. 

From  Treasurer  of  State  on  account 
of  settlement  for  the  month  of  No- 
vember, 1886,  not  accounted  for $3,222  22 

Sundry  receipts  for  November 2,745  27 

Sundry  receipts  for  December 12,070  16 

Sundry  receipts  for  January,  1887 2,704  27 

Sundry  receipts  fractional  month  Feb- 
ruary (10th  included) 2,739  37 

Cash  in  visitors' fund  1,367  92 

Cash  in  convicts'  savings  fund 3,645  21 

Cash  in  *brick-yard  fund 6,000  00 

Cash  in  confiscation  fund 45  60 

fPension  money  of  Convict  Sanders...  2,200  00 

$36,740  02: 


DISBURSEMENTS. 

Sundry  accounts  as  per  cash  book,  No- 
vember     $5,967  49 

Sundry  accounts  as  per  cash  book,  De- 
cember       6,370  26 

Sundry   accounts  January,  and  up  to 
February  16, 1887 3,887  31 

Excess   payments  of  vouchers    during 

January 479  39 

Balance  to  be  accounted  for 20,035  57 

—5 $36,740  02: 


JSTo  record  is  kept  to  show  the  bills  payable.  The  following 
accounts  are  found  filed  in  the  office  of  the  Prison,  and  are  ad- 
mitted to  be  correct  by  A.  J.  Howard,  Warden : 

M.  V.  McCann,  coal  $1,642  45 

Payne  &  Ragsdale,  provisions 786  25 

E.  C.  Eakeu  &  Co.,  groceries 1,474  81 

Lewman  Bros.,  drugs  and  hardware  673  82 

Jeff.  Gas  Co.,  gas 324  00 

Perin  &  Gaff,  merchandise 147  93 

Sundry  newspapers,  advertising 185  82 

Geo.  Willacy,  queensware  30  80 

O.  F.  Zimmerman  (?) 40  25 

Myer  &  Bros.,  lumber 45  12 

Chas.  Nagle,  ice -....  25  00 

J.  H.  Zinsmeister  &  Bros.,  grocery  3405 

L.  P.  By  laud,  teamster 151  50 

E.  J.Howard,  lumber 156  42 

Ohrens  &  Ott,  pumps,  etc 74  30 

Geo.  F.  Frank,  saddlery 34  00 

Geo.  Hulzbog,  carriagemaker 33  70 

J.  H.  Hodapp,  produce 178  65 

P.  Treacy ,  grocery 3  44 

Oglesby  &  Dustin,  produce  65  50 

B.  T.  Babbitt,  soap 38  99 

Ohio  Valley  Telegraph  Co.,  telegrams  8  90 

G.  "W.  Baxter,  Deputy  Warden  6  80 

A.  M.  Bloom,  meat 1,134  00 

Salaries  of  guards  and  employes,  November 2,229  82 

Salaries  of  guards  and  employes,  December 2,512  23 

Salaries  of  guards  and  employes,  January 2,528  47 

Seymour  Woolen  Factory,  merchandise 1,025  33 


Total $15,592  :* 


This  sum  of  $15,592.35  does  not  include  the  accounts  payable 
for  the  month  of  February,  1887,  nor  does  it  include  accounts 
not  yet  presented  for  payment,  if  any,  for  previous  months,  for 
the  reason  that  no  records  are  kept  showing  such  transactions, 
and  for  the  further  reason  that  the  Warden  and  Clerk  were 
unable  to  give  such  information. 


The  "Private  Ledger,"  kept  aside  from  the  books  of  the 
prison  by  M.  I.  Huette,  the  Clerk  (no  other  books  showing 
such  information),  shows  that  there  is  due  the  State  of  Indiana 
from  the  following  named  contractors,  on  account  of  convict 
labor,  long  since  due,  the  following  sums,  to-wit: 

Perin  &  Gaff  Manufacturing  Co $225  04 

Thomas  Gaff 5,874  43 

Frarxk  L.  Perin 3,002  36 

R.  M.  Dennis..  393 


Total $9,495  63 

The  bank  and  check-book  of  the  Warden  used  in  the  trans- 
action of  his  official  business  would  have  been  of  great  value  in 
making  this  examination,  and  would,  perhaps,  have  shown 
transactions  impossible  to  arrive  at  in  any  other  way;  but  as  he, 
the  said  Warden,  refused  to  comply  with  the  demand  of  your 
Committee  to  produce  said  books,  the  investigation  was  made 
without  same. 

The  brick-yard  fund  heretofore  mentioned  in  this  report  was 
not  examined  by  us  for  the  reason  that*  the  Warden  failed  to 
produce  the  vouchers  claimed  to  have  been  paid  out  of  this 
fund.  Warden  Howard  testified  that  the  total  amount  of  this 
account  was  between  $14,000  and  $15,000,  but  claimed  the 
balance  now  due  the  State  to  be  $2,700.  The  estimated  charge 
of  $6,000  against  him,  as  given  in  this  report,  is  based  upon 
testimony  before  the  Committee. 

The  convicts'  savings  account  is  the  only  ledger  account  kept 
in  the  prison.  Upon  examination  of  this  book  we  find  that 
many  convicts,  now  and  heretofore  confined  in  the  prison,  are 
and  have  been  subscribers  to  the  Jeffersonville  Evening  Times, 
a  daily  newspaper  published  in  Jeffersonville,  and  owned  by 
Mr.  A.  J.  Howard,  Warden,  for  which  paper  the  convict  is 
charged  $4.20  per  annum,  or  35  cents  per  month.  It  is  in  evi- 
dence that  the  librarian,  a  convict  named  Martin,  solicited  sub- 
scriptions for  this  paper,  and  more  copies  of  it  entered  the 
prison  than  any  other  paper. 

We  further  find  that  the  guards  and  employes  of  the  prison 
have  not  received  their  monthly  wages  for  November,  Decem- 
ber and  January,  amounting  to  $7,270.52,  and  that  the  War- 
den, upon  settlement  with  the  Auditor  of  State,  for  the 'month 


of  November,  drew  from  the  State  Treasury  the  amount  of 
wages  of  said  guards  and  employes  for  said  month  of  Novem- 
ber, amounting  to  the  sum  of  $2,229.82,  which  amount  is  in- 
cluded in  the  sum  of  $3,222.22,  heretofore  charged  against  said 
Warden,  for  the  reason  that  the  same  had  not  been  accounted 
for  on  the  books  of  the  prison. 

We  further  find  that  it  has  been  customary  for  bills  rendered 
to  remain  unpaid  for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  ranging 
from  four  to  fifteen  months.  Among  such  bills,  we  find  one 
from  the  Seymour  Woolen  Factory,  $2,645,  made  out  in  No- 
vember, 1885,  and  paid  on  February  16, 1887.  We  also  find  in 
the  office  of  the  Warden  a  number  of ,  unopened  letters  ad- 
dressed to  A.  J.  Howard,  Warden.  Many  of  these  letters  were 
received  five  and  six  months  ago,  and  were  found  to  relate  to  the 
business  transactions  of  the  prison. 

We  also  find  that  the  Warden  has  been  in  the  habit  of  bor- 
rowing money  from  his  subordinate  officers  for  the  purpose  of 
paying  the  gate   money  of  discharged  convicts,  and  that  said  • 
money  is  still  owing. 

The  item  of  $2,200,  with  which  said  Howard  is  charged  in 
this  report,  is  explained  as  follows :  Isaac  W.  Sanders,  a  life- 
time convict,  during  the  month  of  August,  1886,  received  ar- 
rearages of  pensions  to  the  amount  of  $2,727.75,  granted  on  ac- 
count of  wounds  received  during  the  late  war.  Said  Howard, 
as  Warden,  deposited  the  amount,  less  $427.75  used  by  said 
Sanders,  in  the  Citizens'  National  Bank,  JefFersonville,  to  the 
credit  of  said  Sanders.  For  this  balance  of  $2,200  a  certificate 
of  deposit  was  issued  to  Sanders.  At  the  urgent  request  of 
said  Warden  Howard,  said  Sanders  indorsed  said  certificate  of 
deposit  in  favor  of  said  Warden.  Sanders  in  evidence  stated 
that  he  would  not 'have  done  so  under  any  other  circumstances, 
and  we  find  it  was  done  under  duress.  The  money  obtained 
thereon  your  committee  believe  to  have  been  part  of  the  cash 
exhibited  to  the  Senate  Investigating  Committee  as  part  of  the 
cash  account  of  said  prison.  After  your  Committee  was  in 
possession  of  these  facts,  and  before  your  Committee  had  left 
the  prison,  Mr.  A.  J.  Howard,  after  he  had  resigned  his  office 
as  Warden,  presented  through  the  clerk,  Mr.  Huette,  said 
amount  of  $2,200  to  the  chairman  of  your  Committee,  where- 
upon same  was  paid  over  to  the  Acting  Warden,  Mr.  Baxter, 
who  deposited  the  same  to  the  credit  of  said  Sanders. 


8 

There  is  no  way  of  determining,  from  the  appearance  of  the 
books,  how  many  tickets  of  admission  have  been  sold  to  vis- 
itors to  the  prison  at  the  entrance  charge  of  25  cents  each,  as 
the  tickets  were  kept  in  an  open  box  iii  the  office,  and  were 
indiscriminately  sold  by  persons  in  and  about  the  office.  No 
correct  account  was  ever  kept  of  the  sales  of  such  tickets,  and 
but  a  small  percentage  of  the  amount  accruing  therefrom  was 
ever  accounted  for.  We  find  from  the  evidence  that  the  aver- 
age attendance  daily  was  not  less  than  eight  paying  persons, 
aggregating  an  amount  of  over  $700  per  annum.  The  pro- 
ceeds of  this  fund  was  supposed  to  be  applied  to  the  purchase 
of  books  for  the  prison  library.  Chaplain  Cain,  in  giving  evi- 
dence, stated  that  during  his  tenure  of  office,  three  years  and 
three  months,  he  bought  but  $225  worth  of  books.  The  item 
of  $1,367.92,  charged  as  Visitors'  Fund,  is  the  accumulated 
amount  of  years,  found  on  the  books. 

We  find  that,  in  order  to  make  a  "good  showing"  in  his 
annual  reports,  the  said  Warden  has  not  complied  with  the 
law  regulating  the  payments  of  "  Earnings  and  Receipts  "  into 
the  State  Treasury.  He  has  been  in  the  habit  of  making  use 
of  the  appropriations  for  the  new  fiscal  year  for  debts  accrued 
during  the  previous  years,  and  consequently  his  accounts  do 
not  agree  with  the  accounts  kept  in  the  office  of  the  Auditor 
of  State.  (See  title-page  of  Report  of  State  Prison  South, 
signed  "James  H.  Rice,  Auditor  of  State.") 

We  find  that  for  years  the  Warden  and  Deputy  Warden  have 
appropriated  to  their  own  use  flour  belonging  to  the  prison, 
and  garden  truck  and  vegetables,  cultivated  by  convict  labor 
from  ground  belonging  to  the  State,  without  any  account 
being  made  therefor  or  record  kept  thereof.  It  is  also  in  evi- 
dence that  raw  material  belonging  to  the  State  and  convict 
labor  have  been  otherwise  appropriated  for  private  use  and  the 
State  charged  for  same. 

It  is  impossible  at  this  time,  on  account  of  the  irregular 
manner  of  book-keeping  and  on  account  of  the  refusal  of  said 
Warden  to  produce  his  bank  and  check  books,  and  other 
books,  papers  and  vouchers,  to  arrive  at  the  true  financial  con- 
dition of  the  prison,  but  from  the  partial  examination  we  were 
enabled  to  make,  and  from  information  from  a  reliable  source 
as  to  outstanding  accounts,  and  moneys  received  and  not 
accounted  for,  and  peculations,  your  committee  is  of  the  opin- 


ion  that  there  is  a  deficit  amounting  to  $75,000.  This  deficiency 
does  not  embrace  Mr.  A.  J.  Howard's  entire  term  of  office  as 
Warden,  as  such  an  examination  would  require  the  services  of 
two  expert  accountants  for  several  weeks,  but  it  is  evident  that 
the  deficit  for  his  twelve  years  of  service  woulcl  aggregate  a 
much  larger  sum,  consisting  of  moneys  received  and  unac- 
counted for,  false  entries  and  omissions. 

We  find  that  the  said  A.  J.  Howard  did  not  file  a  new  bond 
upon  his  re-election  to  the  office  of  Warden  two  years  ago,  and 
upon  his  resignation  it  appeared  that  there  were  no  State 
moneys  on  hand,  and  the  Deputy  Warden  was  obliged  to  ad- 
vance from  his  private  funds  the  gate  money  for  a  pardoned 
convict. 

Your  Committee  would  recommend  that  the  facts  herein  re- 
cited be  communicated  to  the  Attorney-General  for  his  action 
in  the  premises;  that  some  method  be  adopted  by  the  House  to 
ascertain  the  exact  amount  of  defalcation,  and  that  the  new 
Warden  be  required  to  strike  a  balance,  and  open  and  keep 
the  accounts  systematically,  in  a  full  set  of  books  to  be  fur- 
nished for  the  use  of  said  Prison. 

» 

We  find  that  the  Directors  then  in  office  are  censurable  in 
not  requiring  the  execution  of  a  new  bond  at  the  re-election  of 
Warden  Howard;  that  the  present  Directors  of  said  Prison, 
with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Horn,  do  not  make  the  periodical 
visits  enjoined  by  law;  that  they  are  directly  culpable  for  the 
loose  and  irregular  mariner  of  book-keeping;  that  at  their 
meetings  no  attempt  was  made  to  inquire  into  the  Warden's 
accounts  further  than  to  audit  bills  the  payment  of  which  they 
never  investigated,  and  at  times  with  the  knowledge  that  the 
same  were  not  paid;  that,  in  general,  instead  of  supervising 
and  acting  as  a  check  upon  the  actions  of  the  Warden,  they 
permitted  him  to  pursue  his  own  course  in  the  management 
and  direction  of  said  Prison,  thus  showing  gross,  if  not  willful, 
eglect  of  duty.  Your  Committee  would  therefor  recommend 
that  the  immediate  resignation  of  the  present  incumbents  be 
requested. 

In  this  connection,  we  would  say  that  there  was  evidence 
upon  the  fact  that  money  influences,  by  candidates,  are  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  election  of  Warden,  and  there  is  testimony  to 
the  effect  that  in  the  re-election  of  Mr.  A.  J.  Iloward,  two 
years  ago,  such  influences  were  used,  but  from  the  incomplete 


: 
' 


10 

investigation  we  were  enabled  to  make,  your  Committee  do  not 
feel  warranted  in  so  finding.  There  is  also  testimony  that 
contractors  pay  a  premium  to  officials  for  the  contract,  and 
evidence  was  offered  that  the  secretary  of  the  company,  who 
sold  their  contract  to  the  Jefrersonville  Boot  and  Shoe  Com- 
pany, told  the'  superintendent  of  the  latter  company  that  they 
paid  $4,500  for  said  contract,  but  said  secretary,  being  in  an- 
other State,  was  not  accessible  to  your  Committee,  and  the  in- 
'vestigation  in  this  respect  could  not  be  pursued  further.  We 
do  not  find  any  3ollusion  between  contractors  and  the  officials 
or  convicts  in  reference  to  securing  labor  without  benefit  to  the 
State,  but  are  not  prepared  to  say,  with  the  loose  system  pre- 
vailing, that  such  could  not  be  had. 

We  find  that  ex-Deputy  Warden  Craig,  Clerk  Huette  and 
Steward  Allen  are  officers  of  the  prison  who  have  long  been 
cognizant  of  the  corrupt  practices;  that  ex-Deputy  Warden 
Craig  and  Steward  Allen  were  instrumental  in  covering  up  the 
defalcation  existing  at  the  time  of  the  legislative  investigation 
two  years  ago,  and  that  Deputy  Warden  Baxter  and  Steward 
Allen  assisted  in  procuring  the  private  money  exhibited  to  the 
Senate  Investigating  Committee  of  this  General  Assembly  as 
State  funds;  and  that  these  officers  are  deserving  of  severe 
censure  for  not  presenting  their  full  knowledge  of  the  corrup- 
tion to  the  proper  authorities. 

We  find  that  the  clerk,  in  addition  to  his  salary,  was  al- 
lowed the  privilege  of  selling  soap,  underclothing  and  other 
articles  to  the  convicts,  the  proceeds  from  which  amount  to 
about  $300  per  year.  The  Steward  has,  as  his  perquisites,  the 
bones  and  empty  barrels,  making  an  an  item  of  about  $200  per 
year.  This  practice  we  consider  obnoxious,  to  say  the  least, 
and  we  would  recommend  that  these  proceeds  accrue  to  the 
State. 

We  find  that  no  advertisements  for  bids  on  supplies  were 
ever  made  and  contracts  let  according  to  law ;  that  provisions 
were  bought  in  small  quantities,  and  that  the  coal  was  fur- 
nished monthly  by  one  of  the  bondsmen  of  the  Warden.  The 
meat,  supplied  by  a  Louisville  butcher,  consists  of  the  quarters 
and  shanks,  the  choice  portions  going  to  other  parties. 

The  meal  and  hominy  are  manufactured  at  the  prison.  We 
find  that  about  two-thids  of  the  corn  becomes  offal,  amounting 
to  two  or  three  barrels  per  day  of  very  rich  feed  for  stock.  We 


11 

find  no  returns  have  been  made  to  the  State  of  proceeds  de- 
rived from  such  offal. 

We  find  that  the  large  amount  of  slops  and  refuse  from  the 
table  have  been  wasted  or  fed  to  the  Warden's  hogs. 

We  would  recommend  that  bids  for  supplies  be  solicited  by 
advertisement,  and  that  the  lowest  bidder  be  awarded  the  con- 
tract; that  the  supplies  be  bought  in  large  quantities  for  long 
periods,  to  be  furnished  as  needed ;  that  a  record  of  the  prices 
paid  be  kept  at  both  the  Northern  and  Southern  State  Prisons, 
for  comparison;  that  the  offal  and  slops  be  advertised  for  sale 
and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  if  they  can  not  be  disposed 
of,  that  the  State  buy  sufficient  stock  and  hogs,  if  advisable, 
to  be  supported  therewith ;  and  that  all  proceeds  of  whatever 
nature  accruing  from  State  property  be  applied  to  the  benefit 
of  the  State. 

From  the  evidence,  we  conclude  that  the  quality  of  food  fur- 
nished has  been  decidedly  better  within  the  last  three  or  four 
years.  Prior  to  that  time,  the  Warden  supplied  the  meat  for  a 
number  of  years  from  a  pork-house  owned  by  himself  and 
brother,  and  it  was  a  frequent  occurrence  to  find  the  meat  rot- 
ten and  full  of  maggots.  We  find  the  bacon,  potatoes  and 
hominy  furnished  the  convicts  are  in  the  main  of  fair  quality. 
The  beans  used  for  making  soup  are  musty  and  partly  rotten. 
The  corn  bread  is  of  poor  quality,  the  meal  not  being  bolted 
beyond  having  the  husk  taken  out. 

The  outer  clothing  of  convicts  is  sufficient,  but  there  is  much 
complaint  that  they  are  compelled  to  buy  their  underclothing 
from  the  Clerk  at  extravagant  prices,  and  are  not  allowed  to 
receive  it  from  their  friends.  On  this  point  there  is  conflict  of 
testimony,  but  we  would  recommend  that  they  be  allowed  to 
receive  such  garments,  and  by  stamping  the  same  a  disguise  in 
3ase  of  an  escape  can  be  prevented. 

We  find  that  the  greater  portion  of  the  cells  are  foul  and 
lamp;  the  straw  ticks  contain  little  straw,  arid  are  filthy  and 
swarming  with  bugs;  the  sheets  ure  said  to  be  changed  every 
two  weeks,  and  many  of  them  we  find  are  not  changed  that 
)ften.  Some  cells  have  no  pillows,  and  what  pillows  there  are 
have  but  little  straw.  The  care  of  the  cell  seems  to  be  left  very 
much  to  the  occupant.  We  find  no  regular  system  of  washing, 
although  there  are  many  idle  and  unemployed  prisoners  who 
might  be  engaged  in  washing  bed  clothing.  There  is  no  par- 


12 

ticular  system  of  'bathing,  and  many  of  the  convicts  are  afflicted 
with  loathsome  diseases.  Only  two  candles  per  week  are 
allowed  to  each  cell.  These  are  consumed  in  one  or  two  nights, 
and  the  convicts  thus  spend  the  greater  part  of  the  week  in 
idleness  and  darkness,  other  than  the  general  lighting  of  the 
cell-house.  The  cell-houses  are  heated  by  stoves.  The  heat 
they  afford  can  hardly  penetrate  the  cells,  and  there  is  much 
suffering  during  inclement  weather. 

We  find  the  library  to  contain  about  2,500  books  of  a  char- 
acter in  general  urisuited  to  the  readers.  Prisoners  are  allowed 
a  book  every  two  weeks,  and  must  make  a  choice  from  ten  to 
twenty  books  thrown  in  a  box.  There  is  no  attempt  to  cata- 
logue them  and  permit  a  selection,  which,  we  suggest,  can  be 
readily  done.  The  Librarian,  Martin,  a  life-time  convict,  has 
been  in  charge  of  this  department  for  a  considerable  time,  and 
a  change  would  probably  prove  a  benefit. 

The  chapel  is  an  unplastered  room,  uninviting  in  appearance, 
cold  and  cheerless  in  the  winter.  During  the  hot  months,  owing 
to  the  tin  roof,  there  is  a  prostration  by  the  heat.  Services  of 
one  hour's  duration  are  held  on  Sunday.  There  is  and  has 
been  no  Sunday-school  for  a  long  time,  and  no  satisfactory 
reason  is  given  for  its  abandonment.  The  present  Chaplain, 
elected  last  September,  has  organized  a  small  school  for  illiter- 
ate convicts  and  evinces  a  disposition  to  do  his  duty. 

We  find  that  the  former  Chaplain,  L.  F.  Cain,  prostituted 
his  official  position  by  making  it  the  means  of  securing  the 
confidence  of  convicts  and  obtaining  from  them  money  for  the 
alleged  purpose  of  securing  pardons  for  them,  and  that  a  num- 
ber of  the  books  bought  through  him  for  the  library  were 
medical  works,  in  the  study  of  which  the  said  Chaplain  was 
then  individually  interested. 

We  find  in  the  hospital  about  fifteen  patients  who  appear 
satisfied  with  their  surroundings.  To  general  appearance  all 
is  kept  clean,.but  on  closer  inspection  we  find  the  walls  are  full 
of  cock-roaches  and  the  bed  clothing  shows  lack  of  sufficient 
washing.  Opportunity  is  given  the  sick  to  see  the  physician 
twice  a  day,  but  we  believe  the  number  of  sick  treated  outside 
in  proportion  to  those  .treated  inside  of  the  hospital  to  be  over- 
large,  indicating  a  disposition  to  work  the  sick.  We  find  the 
alarming  fact  that  many  prisoners  who  prefer  to  work  are 
afflicted  with  loathsome  diseases,  and  DO  sanitary  provision  ap- 


13 

pears  to  be  made  in  this  regard,  for  which  the  physician  or  Di- 
rectors must  be  held  censurable. 

Cruel  and  inhuman  punishment  has  characterized  the  ad- 
ministration of  Warden  A.  J.  Howard,  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  crimes  have  been  committed  under  the  apparent  sanc- 
tion of  law.  Your  Committee  made  a  partial  investigation  of 
three  very  questionable  deaths,  and  from  the  evidence  we  are 
led  to  believe  that: 

In  1875  or  1876,  one  Goddard,  a  convict,  was  punished  and 
killed  and  his  body  burnt  in  the  furnace.  The  remains  of  what 
was  supposed  to  be  a  human  being  were  found  by  the  firemen, 
whose  testimony  we  were  unable  to  secure.  They  were  also 
seen  by  a  convict,  now  confined,  and  his  testimony  implicates 
David  M.  Allen,  the  present  Steward ;  Mr.  Kennedy,  a  guard 
now  at  the  Prison,  and  Mr.  Jack  Hilliard,  then  a  guard  and  at 
present  residing  in  Jeffersonville. 

We  find  that  in  February,  1881,  one  O'Neil,  a  convict,  while 
sick,  was  unable  to  perform  his  task,  and  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Prison  Physician,  Dr.  Sherrod,  was  punished 
by  imprisonment  in  the  cage,  by  being  handcuffed  to 
the  door  a  number  of  days.  When  released,  he  sought  out 
the  Doctor,  and  begged  piteously  not  to  be  sent  back  to  the 
-cage  and  for  change  of  work.  Dr.  Sherrod  was  indignant, 
and  Mr.  Jack  Hilliard,  a  guard,'  undertook  to  carry  out  his 
wishes.  Instead  of  doing  so,  O'Neil  was  again  taken  back  to 
the  cage,  remained  handcuffed  all  night,  and  in  the  morning 
was  found  dead.  Before  the  Coroner  arrived,  Dr.  Jesse 
McClure,  Hospital  Steward,  under  Dr.  Sherrod,  and  two  friends, 
made  a  post-mortem  examination,  and  stated  to  the  House  In- 
vestigating Committee,  then  present,  that  the  death  resulted 
from  congestion  of  the  lungs  or  heart,  it  is  not  definite  which. 
In  this  examination,  Dr.  Sherrod  was  ignored,  and  his  orders 
that  the  body  be  not  touched  until  the  Coroner  arrived,  dis- 
obeyed. The  Coroner,  Jacob  Ross,  made  no  investiga- 
tion beyond  lifting  the  sheet,  and  noticing  that  such  had 
already  been  done  without  authority.  In  the  post-mortem, 
the  heart,  lungs  and  liver  were  taken  out.  These,  Dr. 
Sherrod  afterward  examined  and  pronounced  healthy.  Dr. 
-Jesse  McClure,  on  pretense  of  looking  for  ulcers,  ordered  them 
to  be  cut  to  pieces  by  a  hospital  nurse,  the  witness,  and  in  the 
course  of  this,  made  remarks  upon  their  healthy  appearance. 
We  believe  there  was  foul  play  here. 


14 

We  find  that  about  the  same  period  one  Mungo,  a  colored 
convict,  charged  with  stealing  a  file,  was  catted  on  the  bare 
back,  while  on  his  hands  and  knees,  by  John  Craig,  then  Dep- 
uty Warden,  and  a  robust  man.  The  evidence  is  conflicting  aa 
to  the  number  of  strokes,  as  counted  by  convicts,  but  all  agree 
in  putting  the  number  above  fifty.  Mungo  died  from  the 
effects  of  this  castigation  in  great  agony. 

We  believe  the  evidence  adduced  warrants  immediate  action 
by  the  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  Clark  County.  The  persons 
implicated  and  those  cognizant  of  the  facts  are  mentioned,  and 
a  prosecution  should  at  once  be  instituted  to  punish  the  guilty 
and  remove  from  the  innocent  the  stain  of  suspicion. 

We  are  gratified  to  say  that  no  catting  has  been  done  for  the 
last  three  or  four  years.  To  whom  this  should  be  credited,  we 
are  unable  to  say.  The  punishment  has  been  much  mitigated, 
but  is  yet  severe.  We  find  the  punishment  usually  inflicted  is 
confinement — sometimes  as  long  as  thirty  days — in  a  filthy  and 
dark  cell,  commonly  called  the  "  Cage,"  fifty  feet  from  the 
nearest  means  of  warmth,  and  full  of  vermin.  Here  men  are 
handcuffed  to  the  door  during  the  day,  fed  upon  half  rations  of 
corn-bread  and  water,  and  at  night  sleep  on  the  stone  floor  or 
on  lumber  brought  for  that  purpose,  without  bedding  or  coats. 
Convicts  have  been  known  to  have  their  feet  frozen  from 
exposure  in  this  cell. 

Another  mode  of  punishment  is  by  solitary  confinement: 

J.  W.  Minor,  convict,  testified  that  he  had  been  placed  in 
solitary  confinement,  with  the  light  entirely  shut  out,  for  8 
months,  because  unable  to  perform  his  task.  Shields,  a  guard, 
found  Minor  in  loathsome  condition,  and  with  difficulty  ob- 
tained permission  to  have  him  removed  and  attended  by  physi- 
cian. During  the  whole  of  this  time,  Minor  was  never  visited 
by  the  Chaplain. 

Other  modes  of  punishment  are  depriving  the  men  of  their 
allowance  of  tobacco,  of  their  good  time,  forbidding  their 
writing  to  or  seeing  friends,  and  all  these  methods  of  punish- 
ment are  sometimes  inflicted  for  one  offense. 

Your  Committee  find  it  difficult  not  to  speak  with  feeling, 
of  still  another  punishment,  and  that  most  dreaded,  imprison- 
ment in  the  "Crazy  House,"  so  called  because  crazy  convicts 
have  been  confined  there,  and  sane  men  have  almost  been 
crazed  by  the  confinement.  It  is  a  small  row  of  cells,  filthy 
and  foul. 


15 

Charles  David,  convict,  stated  in  the  presence  of  guard,  with- 
out denial  from  the  latter,  that  he  had  been  imprisoned  contin- 
uously six  months  in  the  Crazy  House,  and  fought  the  rats  for 
his  life.  These  rats  come  through  a  small  slot  2x8  inches,  which 
is  the  only  means  of  ventilation  and  light.  He  stated  he  was  for 
four  days  at  a  time  without  water,  and  drank  his  own  urine. 

Wm.  Hamlin,  a  life  convict,  is  now  the  only  prisoner  con- 
fined in  the  Crazy  House.  He  is  70  years  old;  has  been  in  the 
Prison  for  27  years,  and  for  the  last  14  years  has  been  insane. 
The  guard  stated  that  he  took  him  out  to  the  light  and  walked 
him  about  every  day  or  so. 

This  inhuman  treatment  merits  the  most  severe  condemna- 
tion, and  we  recommend  the  immediate  enactment  of  a  law  re- 
quiring the  Governor  to  take  cognizance  of  the  cases  of  insane 
prisoners. 

We  do  not  find  the  punishment  compatible  with  the  gravity 
of  the  offense. 

Delaney  Lowry  left  his  work  for  a  moment;  he  was  shovel- 
ing into  a  wagon  in  the  prison  yard,  and  went  to  the  engine- 
room  to  warm.  Confined  in  his  cell  since  November  8,  1886. 
The  cell  is  not  whitewashed  nor  ventilated,  and  is  foul  and 
damp.  He  is  much  emaciated  and  suffering  from  disease,  and 
without  medical  treatment. 

Convict  George  Whitted,  locked  up  for  two  days  for  having 
20  cents  in  his  pocket,  given  him  by  -stranger ;  deprived  of 
eight  days'  good  time  and  of  his  tobacco,  put  on  half  rations  ; 
first  offense. 

Geo.  Dowell,  for  talking,  put  in  cage  for  twenty-five  days. 

George  Frison,  put  in  cage  four  days  for  wearing  two  pairs  of 
pants,  when  the  guard  knew  he  did  not  have  them  on. 

James  Roper,  life  convict,  in  cage  for  three  days,  because  he 
walked  out  of  line. 

Edward  G.  Lindsey,  eight  to  sixteen  days  in  cage  for  taking 
piece  of  corn  bread  from  another's  plate  ;  also  deprived  of  eight 
days'  good  time  and  tobacco. 

We  do  not  find  the  rules  for  the  government  and  discipline 
of  the  prison  printed  and  posted  in  the  cells,  as  required  by 
law,  and  the  punishment  seems  to  be  left  very  much  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  guards.  Convicts  say,  when  reported  and  taken 
before  Warden  Howard,  they  are  met  with  a  volume  of  abuse, 

and  the  order  is  given  the  guard:  "  Take  the and 

give  him  h — 1." 


16 

We  would  also  say  that  it  is  in  evidence  that  whisky  was 
furnished  by  guards  to  convicts  for  money. 

Concerning  the  task  work, your  Committee  find  there  is  much 
complaint  as  to  overtaskiug  in  the  foundry,  where  40  to  90  molds 
is  a  day's  labor.  We  understand  30  molds  is  usually  considered 
a  good  day's  labor  by  free  men. 

In  the  saddle-tree  department,  the  task  is  12  trees  a  day  from 
raw  material,  and  the  punishment  for  failure  is  not  less  than 
eight  days  in  the  cage,  and  the  loss  of  good  time  and  tobacco. 
We  would  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  contractors  only  pay 
for  the  labor  they  actually  receive. 

In  the  kitchen  department  the  men  complain  of  having  to 
work  daily  two  hours  extra,  and  all  day  Sunday.  They  go  on 
at  4  a.  m.  and  off  at  5:30  p.  m. 

The  crippled  men  have  the  same  task  as  the  sound. 

Your  Committee  find  the  buildings,  with  the  exception  of 
the  new  cell-house  and  chapel,  in  a  generally  dilapidated  con- 
dition, an  unsafe  and  decayed  wooden  fence  serving  as  a  wall 
around  the  late  addition  to  the  Prison,  and  bad  sewerage.  But 
we  would  not  recommend  any  further  outlay  for  improvements 
than  would  suffice  to  build  a  stockade  wall  in  place  of  the  said 
wooden  fence,  believing  that  the  location  of  said  prison  is  not 
conducive  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  prisoners,  nor  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  State.  An  almost  thorough  renova- 
tion is  necessary,  and  we  are  of  the  opinion  that  in  a  few  years 
the  people  will  demand  a  removal  to  a  location  where  nearness 
to  stone- quarries  will  admit  of  the  erection  of  suitable  build- 
ings, with  less  cost  and  better  results,  than  if  the  same  amount 
were  now  expended  upon  improvements. 

At  the  request  of  Hon.  C.  L.  Jewett,  who  is  trying  to  secure 
a  pardon  for  Arthur  Brooks,  convict  from  Wayne  County,  this 
convict  was  examined  by  us.  Some  misapprehension  having 
arisen  as  to  Mr.  Jewett's  connection  with  this  matter,  the  com- 
mittee desire  to  say  that  it  is  entirely  proper  and  honorable. 

Your  Committee  feel  that  the  investigation  they  were  able 
to  make  is  not  as  searching  as  more  time  would  permit.  We 
have  attempted  in  this  report  to  calmly  review  the  evidence. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 

LEE  W.  SINCLAIR,  GEORGE  W.  HOBSON, 

J.  B.  PATTEN,  JOHN  D.  ALEXANDER, 

WILLIAM  R.  PLEAK,  CHARLES  W.  CRUSON, 

F.  J.  S.  ROBINSON,  JOB  OSBORN, 

2— PRISON.  WM.  H.  WHITWORTH. 


PRISON  SOUTH. 


The  following  is  the  transcript  of  the  testimony  taken  before 
the  Committee  by  the  stenographer : 

AT  PRISON,  DIRECTORS'  ROOM,  \ 
THURSDAY,  February  17,  1887.      j 

Mr.  A.  J.  Howard,  having  been  shown  the  authority  of  the 
Commission,  was  duly  sworn,  and  testified  as  follows: 

Q.     Bv  Mr.  Sinclair :  I  would  like  to  see  your  bond,  if  you 

• 

please. 

A.     My  bond  is  in  Indianapolis. 

Q.     What  is  the  date  of  it  ? 

A.     I  don't  remember  the  date. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander:  Who  are  your  bondsmen? 

A.  As  I  recollect,  Jonas  G.  Howard,  Jonas  W.  Howard, 
George  F.  Howard  and  M.  V.  McCann ;  all  live  in  Clark 
County. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  been  Warden  ? 

A.     Eleven  years  and  over. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  many  bonds  you  have  executed  to  the 
State  ? 

A.     I  do  not,  sir. 

Q.     Do  you  remember  having  executed  more  than  one. 

A.     Yes,  sir,  I  executed  two  certainly,  probably  three. 

Q.  When  you  were  re-elected  Warden  two  years  ago,  do  you 
remember  of  having  then  executed  another  bond  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  whether  I  executed  another  bond  or 
not ;  the  old  bond  was  straight.  I  don't  care  to  have  that  part 
of  it  put  down.  It  was  passed  by  at  that  time — was  over- 
looked. I  don't  know  that  I  ever  did  file  a  new  bond;  the  old 
bond  was  presumed  to  be  good.  There  was  nothing  said  of  it 
at  that  time. 

2 — PRISON. 


18 

Q.  How  long  after  that  did  you  have  a  conversation  with 
the  Directors  about  it  ?  • 

A.  Sometime  after  they  spoke  about  it.  It  was  a  matter  of 
omission  on  my  part ;  the  gentleman  I  expected  to  go  on  my 
bond — Jonas  Howard — was  away  at  the  time. 

Q.  Has  there  ever  been  anything  said  about  it  at  any  of  the 
last  meetings  of  the  Directors. 

A.     No,  sir,  not  recently. 

Q.     When  was  your  last  report  made  ? 

A.     In  December,  for  fiscal  year  ending  October  31,  1886. 

Q.  I  understand  you  then  not  to  have  filed  a  bond  the  last 
time  you  were  re-elected  ? 

A.  My  recollection  is  that  I  have  not  yet  filed  a  new  bond. 
The  business  is  standing  on  the  old  bond. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  You  filed  a  bond  in  1882  or  1883  after 
you  was  elected? 

A.     Yes,  sir;  in  1881. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  Have  you  made  any  contracts  with 
any  parties  since  October  31,  1886,  for  work  about  the  prison — 
hired  out  any  convicts? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  since  that  time.  Well,  yes,  one  contract, 
but  I  believe  it  is  referred  to  in  my  report,  page  12.  "  With 
R.  M.  Dennis,  manufacturer  of  saddle-trees,  to  expire  Decem- 
ber 31,  1891,  thirty  convicts,  with  privilege  of  fifty." 

Q.     What  was  the  gross  amount  paid? 

A.     Fifty -five  cents  per  day  per  man. 

.    Q.     How  much  have  you  received  in  gross  since  that  report 
on  this  contract  ? 

A.  I  have  received  on  that  contract  in  November,  Decem- 
ber, January  and  down  to  date,  $881.89. 

Q.  What  other  moneys  have  you  received  since  that  time 
•on  any  account  in  the  aggregate? 

A.     For  November ' $2,745  27 

For  December  (which  includes  State  item  def- 
icit, $2,665.33) 12,070  16 

For  January 2,704  27 

To  February  10 : 2,739  37 


Total.... $20,259  07 

What  is  the  amount  credited  to  convicts'  savings? 


19 

* 

A.     To  February  10,  $3,645.21. 
Q.     Give  your  expenditures  since  October  31  ? 
A.     For  November,  $5,967.49  ;  for  December,  $6,370.26. 
January  and  February  accounts  are  not  made  up  yet,  but  the- 
disbursements  since  December  31,  1886,  to  date,  are  as  follows: 

Boot  and  Shoe  Co : $378  00 

Geo.  F.Howard 100  00 

C.  Kiselman 33  00 

S.  Taylor 30  69 

Zier  &  Co 10  50 

W.  E.  Dalton........ 50  00 

Discharged  convicts,  January 330  00 

Petty  cash,  January . 68  87 

Jeft'ersonville  Boot  and  Shoe  Co 16  69 

S.  Jamison,  salary 60  00 

C.  A.  Ballou,  salary 50  00 

Petty  cash,  February 25  31 

Discharged  convicts 120  00 

Seymour  Woolen  Factory  Co 2,614  25 

Total $3,887  31 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten :  This  last  item  of  §2,614.25,  when  did 
you  pay  that  ? 

A.     Yesterday. 

Q.     To  whom  did  you  pay  that? 

A.     To  Mr.  Sneck,  of  Seymour. 
Further  examination  of  Mr.  A.  J.  Howard,  February  18: 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  What  is  the  amount  of  the  brick- 
yard fund  ? 

A.  That  brick-yard  fund,  exclusive  of  some  credits  that  I 
claim  on  final  settlement,  would  amount  to  a  balance  of  about 
$^,700  due  the  State. 

Q.     Where  are  the  papers  in  connection  with  that? 

A.  I  have  the  vouchers.  I  made  a  collection  of  $6,000 
from  the  Southwestern  Car  Company,  and  we  had  no  fund  to 
run  the  brick-yard  account,  and  I  turned  it  into  it.  We  were 
making  these  brick  buildings. 

Q.  That  was  when  they  went  into  bankruptcy.  It  was  the 
dividend  you  received  from  Colonel  Merryweather? 

A.     Yes,  sir.     I  received  $6,000.     I  want  to  state  to  you 


20 
« 

that  I  want  to  go  over  that  brick-yard  account  and  arrange 
things  before  I  submit  them.  There  are  some  things  that  I  am 
entitled  to  credit.  I  tried  to  get  at  it,  but  I  was  telegraphed 
to  come  to  Indianapolis  on  account  of  the  Senate  Committee 
report. 

Q.     Where  are  the  papers  in  connection  therewith? 

A.  There  are  some  bills  that  were  not  reduced  to  vouchers. 
I  had  these  papers  and  had  some  charges  ever  since  I  was  pay- 
ing the  expenses  out  of  that  in  building  this  cell-house.  We 
furnished  the  brick  for  the  cell-house  out  of  the  brick-yard  ac- 
count. The  whole'account  amounts  to  about  $14,000 ;  with  the 
credits,  brings  it  down  to  about  $2,700. 

Q.     I  would  like  to  look  at  those  papers  ? 

A.  I  will  show  them  to  you  this  afternoon.  I  will  hunt 
them  up. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  State  if  the  brick  was  not  made  by 
convict  labor. 

A.  Except  the  Superintendent,  yes,  sir.  We  had  the  guards 
in  the  yard.  We  had  to  buy  the  wood  and  hire  some  free 
labor  occasionally  to  help  us  in  burning  the  brick.  Had  to 
work  a  night  force. 

Q.     How  many  brick  were  made? 

A.     I  don't  know,  sir ;  I  don't  remember. 

Q.     How  much  wood  did  you  burn  ? 

A.     I  don't  remember. 

Q.  Did  you  keep  an  account  between  yourself  and  the  State 
in  reference  to  that  matter  ? 

A.     We  kept  a  brick  yard  account  on  side  books. 

Q.     Where  are  those  side  books  now  ? 

A.  I  can  iiud  them,  I  guess.  I  had  those  papers  here  at  my 
house  to  see  what  they  were,  when  I  got  a  dispatch  to  come  to 
Indianapolis.  I  sold  some  brick  that  went  to  swell  that  amount 
up.  Sold  it  to  J.,  M.  &  I.  R.  R.,  my  recollection  is,  to  build 
that  depot  at  Columbus. 

Q.     Do  you  remember  how  much  you  got  for  that? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  don't.  I  remember  they  run  their  cars  down 
here  on  the  side  track,  and  we  loaded  them  on  the  cars. 

Q<  Captain,  we  would  like  you  to  give  us  a  statement  of 
how  much  outstanding  indebtedness  there  is  against  the 
Prison  ? 

A.     I  shall  have  to  see  the  Clerk  about  that. 


21 

Q.  Here  is  a  statement  of  bills  payable,  made  by  the  Clerk, 
amounting  to  $14,000  ;  are  there  any  other?  Don't  you  owe 
the  Seymour  Woolen  Factory  some  more  money  ?  [Statement 
attached  marked  Exhibit  B.] 

A.  I  paid  them,  three  or  four  days  ago,  $2,600  or  so,  which 
left  a  balance  of  $371.90. 

Q.  [Showing  bills  in  blank  of  Seymour  Woolen  Factory.] 
Are  these  accounted  for  ? 

A.  No.  When  I  was  settling  with  Mr.  Sneck,  when  I  was 
figuring  up  that  account,  I  did  not  know  how  to  extend  these 
items. 

Q.  Captain,  there  is  a  letter  in  December,  from  the  Seymour 
Woolen  Factory.  Here  is  one  in  February.  Here  is  another 
dated  December  24.  [Handing  unopened  letters.] 

A.  These  contain  the  items  extended.  That  amounts  to 
$1,025.33  since  October  31.  There  is  nothing  paid  on  that. 
That  is  the  only  item  that  I  know  of  that  is  not  included  in 
Captain  Huette's  statement. 

Q.  State  how  much  money  you  hold,  as  Warden,  as  a  pen- 
sion fund  received  from  the  prisoners  ? 

A.  I  could  not  answer  that  without  looking  up  that 
account. 

Q.  State  how  much  more  you  have  except  that  which  you 
took  from  Mr.  Sanders,  $2,300,  I  think.  . 

A.     Yes,  sir;  $2,200,  I  think.     That  is  all  I  have. 

Q.     None  other  ? 

A.     No,  sir;  none  other  at  all. 

Q.     Don't  you  owe  a  man  named  Grateguth  about  $135? 

A.     It  is  in  the  cash  account. 

Q.     You  owe  him  this  money  yet  according  to  the  books  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q,  Did  you  examine  this  and  see  whether  it  was  correct  or 
not?  [Referring  to  Exhibit  "B."J 

A.  Well,  now  some  of  these  things  I  don't  know  about. 
There  is  one  account  here  that  I  would  like  to  look  up  ;  that  of 
Payne  &  Ragsdale,  $786.25.  Captain  Huett  figured  that  up. 
(Mr.  Huett,  interrupting,  says:  "That  is  the  true  and  correct 
account  of  the  bills  in  the  office,  to  my  knowledge,  when  I  was 
asked  to  make  it  up  by  the  Senate  Committee,  outside  of  the 
last  item.") 

Q.  State,  Captain,  if  you  know  anything  is  incorrect,  and 
whether  you  owe  any  other  parties  outside  of  this  last  item  ? 


22 

A.  I  said  I  did  not  think  of  anything,  but  that  Seymour 
Mills;  that  is  this  $1,025.33. 

Q.  State  if  you  did  not  give  a  note  about  two  years  ago  for 
$3,000  to  a  Loan  Association,  with  Mr.  Craig  as  security,  and 
others? 

A.  I  think  I  borrowed  $3,000;  don't  think  it  was  two  years 
ago. 

Q.  Was  it  not  about  the  time  the  Committee  came  down 
here,  and  borrowed  for  the  purpose  of  making  up  your  balance? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  do  not  understand  that  it  was.  I  don't  re- 
member a  great  deal  about  it. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  about  the  amount,  and  that  the  note 
is  still  unpaid? 

A.     Oh,  I  have  been  paying  in  weekly  payments. 

Q.     How  much  is  due  yet? 

A.     I  do  not  know,  sir. 

Q.     Does  that  money  belong  to  the  State? 

A.     No,  sir;  not  as  I  recollect. 

Q.  The  question  I  wish  to  ask,  if  you  borrowed  that  money 
for  the  purpose  of  making  up  your  shortage  at  that  time? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  remember  what  that  transaction  was  ex- 
actly. 

Q.  Was  it  not  when  the  committee  camedown'here  and  you 
were  short  that  much  and  you  borrowed  it  ? 

A.  I  don't  think  I  borrowed  that  money  at  that  time  at  all. 
I  could  not  say  certain. 

Q.  In  reference  to  that  $1,000  that  we  asked  if  you  had  re- 
ceived from  Perin  &  Gaff,  or  Samuel  H.  Perin,  last  Saturday, 
what  is  your  answer  to-day? 

A.  I  got  $1,000  from  him  as  a  personal  advancement.  I 
mean  as  a  personal  favor  to  me. 

Q.     Is  it  not  a  fact  that  they  owe  the  State  about  $6,000  ? 

A.     Yes,  more  than  that ;  about  $9,000. 

Q.     Was  that  an  individual  transaction  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir ;  it  was. 

Q.     Why  did  not  they  pay  it  on  the  $9,000  that  they  owed. 

A.  Because  they  did  not  propose  to  pay  that  $9,000.  They 
have  not  proposed  to  pay  that,  as  I  explained  to  you. 

Q.     My  understanding  is  the  claim  is  $7,000  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     That  leaves  a  difference  of  $2,000. 


23 

A.  The  reason  I  have  not  sued  vyas  because  I  thought  that 
•claim  would  go  to  the  Legislature  and  be  adjusted  there.  They 
say  they  are  willing  to  pay  the  balance  of  that  account  if  they 
can  have  credit  for  the  $7,000. 

Q.  State  if  that  $1,000  they  let  you  have  was  to  be  applied 
to  that  account. 

A.     No,  sir,  it  was  not.     I  did  not  so  understand  it. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  if  you  owe  any  business  men  about  the 
•city  or  any  place  for  supplies  that  you  have  received  that  are 
not  paid  for,  outside  of  those  mentioned  in  Exhibit  "C?" 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of.  I  presume  that  statement  is  cor- 
rect. Allow  me  to  sa}r  that  in  the  purchase  of  supplies  for  this 
month  some  bills  are  not  in  there,  but  prior  to  that  time  the 
bills  are  all  in,  as  I  understand  it.  My  clerk  made  up  that  list, 
and  I  depend  upon  him. 

Q.     Are  the  coal  bills  all  in  ? 

A.     Down  to  the  balance  of  this  month. 

Q.     Do  you  get  a  bill  for  coal  every  month  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  understand  you  have  accounted  for  this  $2,200  of  M"r. 
Sanders  on  the  prison  cash  book.  Your  book  shows  you  are 
indebted  on  that  account  $3,645.21  on  your  convict  cash  book 
account.  Now  that  includes  the  $2,200  of  Mr.  Sanders's  money? 

A.     No,  sir,  that  don't. 

[Question  asked  of  Captain  Huett :  Is  this  Grateguth's  ac- 
count included  in  this  $3,645?  A.  Yes,  sir,  everything  is  in- 
cluded in  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  $2,200.]' 

Q.     How  much  money  have  you  on  hand  ? 

A.  Well,  gentlemen,  I  do  not  propose  to  answer  that  except 
from  the  books. 

Q.  What  is  your  reason  for  not  answering  it  now  ?  You 
answered  it  to  the  Senate  Committee. 

A.  I  want  to  stand  on  the  investigation  of  this  Committee 
as  to  what  amount  I  have  on  hand.  Allow  me  to  say  that 
when  you  say  that  the  Warden  is  short  all  the  bills  that  have 
not  been  receipted  for  you  charge  him  with  a  shortage  that  is 
not  there.  The  State  has  not  paid. 

Q.  Is  it  not  true  when  you  make  your  settlement  and  draw 
your  money  out  of  the  Auditor  of  State's  Office,  that  your  ap- 
propriations run  from  one  fiscal  year  to  the  other,  and  don't 
you  get  the  use  of  the  money  on  that  account?  In  other  words, 
es? 


24 

,  i 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  how  the  Auditor  runs  that  appro- 
priation business. 

Q.     Your  report  shows  a  balance  to  your  credit  of  $2,665.33. 

A.     I  drew  that  on  the  27th  or  28th  of  December. 

Q.  Please  explain  how  much  money  you  have  drawn  from 
the  State  Government  since  October  31. 

A.     [By  Clerk.]  $3,222.22  on  this  year  past. 

Q.  Is  that  all  that  has  been  drawn  within  the  last  two  years 
under  the  appropriation  of  the  Legislature,  the  $2,665.33  and 
the  $3,222.2.? 

A.     No,  I  drew  from  the  appropriations  more  than  that. 

Q.  How  was  your  account  when  you  were  re-elected  War- 
den ? 

A.     My  account  was  just  exactly  as  my  reports  show. 

Q.  Did  not  your  appropriation  end  at  the  end  of  the  fiscal 
year  two  years  ago  ? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  want  to  say  that  the  balance  of  the  appropri- 
ation is  carried  forward  to  pay  the  balance  of  the  expenses  that 
has  not  yet  been  reported. 

Q.  Captain,  state  how  much  money  you  have  on  hand  as 
Warden  at  the  present  time. 

A.  Gentlemen,  I  submit  to  you  the  books  of  the  prison  to 
ascertain  how  much  I  should  have  on  hand. 

Q.  State  whether  you  will  answer  the  question — I  will  put 
it  this  way :  How  much  you  have  on  hand  and  to  produce  it 
for  the  examination  of  this  Committee  ? 

A.  I  will  not  answer  that  question  now.  I  would  like  to 
have  you  go  on  with  your  investigation.  I  decline  to  answer 
that  question. 

Q.     Do  you  desire  to  answer  it  at  all  ? 

A.     Well,  that  is  a  matter  I  refer  to  my  attorney. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander  :  Why,  as  Warden,  have  you  not 
paid  the  guards  here  since  the  31st  of  October  ? 

A.  We  have  been  two  or  three  months  behind  for  years  in 
the  payment  of  guards.  Ever  since  the  prison  was  idle  we  have 
run  it  two  months  behind. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten :  Where  do  you  keep  your  account,  as 
Warden — what  bank  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  keep  any  particular  bank  account.  When 
I  deposit  at  all  I  deposit  at  the  Citizens'  National  Bank  here, 
and  have  for  the  past  twenty  years. 


25 

Q.     Any  other  place  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  to  produce  your  stub  book,  and  also  your 
check  book  or  pass  book,  for  the  examination  of  this  Com- 
mittee. 

A.     Until  I  consult  my  attorney  I  will  not  produce  it. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  When  convicts  die  and  they  have 
accounts  to  their  credit,  what  becomes  of  that  money? 

A.  Well,  that  remains  to  their  credit,  and  we  give  it  to  any 
friends  of  theirs.  If  the  man  has  a  wife  we  give  it  to  her. 

Q.  If  their  friends  never  claim  the  money,  then  what  be- 
comes of  it? 

A.     It  remains  in  the  Warden's  hands. 

Q.     Do  you  know  how  much  of  that  fund  you  have  on  hand? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Ask  the  Clerk  if  he  knows  what  becomes  of  that  money, 
if  it  is  accounted  for  at  all. 

A.  [By  Clerk.]  It  is  to  their  credit  on  the  ledger ;  in  that 
general  convict  cash-book. 


AFTERNOON  SESSION,  February  18. 

Captain  A.  J.  Howard  tendered  his  resignation  to  the  Di- 
rectors, who  were  present,  and  delivered  the  following  state- 
ment in  writing  to  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  : 

"  To  the  Committee  Appointed  by  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  In- 
diana to  Examine  the  Affairs  of  the  Southern  State  Prison  : 

"  As  Warden  of  the  Southern  State  Prison  of  the  State  of 
Indiana,  I  am  willing  to  and  do  admit  that  the  books  ot  the 
Southern  State  Prison  show  a  larger  amount  due  the  State, 
greater  than  I  can  now  account  for  and  more  than  I  am  able  or 
willing  to  pay,  believing,  as  I  do,  that  the  books  are  incorrect 
and  that  I  am  entitled  to  credits  which  the  books  do  not  show." 

The  resignation  was  accepted  by  the  Directors. 

M.  I.  Huett,  being  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows : 
Q.     By  Mr.  Patten:     You  are  the  clerk  ? 
A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  make  up  that  statement  of  expenditures  since 
December  31  ? 


26 
A.     Yes,  sir. 

7  \ 

Q.     What  does  that  include  ? 

A.     We  have  vouchers  for  these  ? 

Q.     That  is  all  paid  out  since  Dec.  31,  1886  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  As  to  Perm  &  Gaff  items,  I  want  to  say  it 
won't  show  up  on  Contractors'  Book,  but  I  have  a  small  ledger 
of  mine  that  will  show  that  up.  You  see,  under  that  law,  as  I 
understand  it,  no  one  firm  can  hire  more  than  100  convictsr 
and  while  the  Perin  &  Gaff  Mfg.  Co.  are  known  as  a  firm,  we 
keep  the  accounts  separately.  On  the  31st  day  of  October  Mr. 
Sam.  Perin's  account  closed.  That  left  the  accounts  of  the 
firm  then  with  Frank  L.  Perin  and  Thomas  Gaff,  and  on  the 
30th  day  of  JSTovember  Frank  Perin  went  out,  and  left  the  ac- 
count open  with  Thomas  Gaff,  and  Perin  &  Gaff  Mfg.  Co.  up 
to  January  15,  and  after  January  15  the  account  is  kept  with 
Perin  &  Gaff  Mfg.  Co.  You  will  find  no  day  book  of  the 
Patten  Mfg.  Co.  I  have  report  made  to  me  daily,  but  I  know 
nothing  of  the  correctness  of  it. 

Q.     How  much  do  Perin  &  Gaff  owe  you  now  ? 

A.     In  the  neighborhood  of  $8,000. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Sinclair :  Have  you  furnished  us  all  the  books 
that  you  have  in  connection  with  these  accounts  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  want  to  impress  upon  your  minds,  gentle- 
men, that  I  am  only  a  subordinate.  Captain  Howard  is  War- 
den. Everything  that  is  done  and  is  to  be  done  is  under  su- 
pervision of  Captain  Howard.  If  there  are  any  more  receipts 
for  month  of  January  or  February  than  on  that  book  [pointing 
to  cash  book]  I  don't  know  it. 

Statement  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Howard :  To  explain  why  the  prison 
earnings  have  been  a  little  short,  the  line  of  contracts  with 
Perin  &  Gaff  Manufacturing  Company  have  been  expiring, 
and  they  have  been  moving  out  of  the  prison.  The  contracts 
expired  at  different  times.  They  commenced  going  out  on  the 
first  of  November. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten :     How  much  do  Perin  &  Gaff  owe  you? 

A.     About  $9,000,  but  they  claim  $7,000  against  the  State, . 
and  hold  back  payments  on  account  of  that.     They  proposed 
to  present  that  claim  to  this  Legislature,  and  by  casting  up  the 
contracts  I  wouldn't  make  anything  for  the  State. 

Q.  How  is  it  that  February  receipts  run  so  much  ahead  of 
January  it  the  contracts  are  expiring  ? 


27 

A.  The  Perm  &  Gaff  Manufacturing  Company  didn't  pay 
me  anything  in  January.  They  paid  me  $300  in  next  month. 
They  paid  up  pretty  well  in  December,  keeping  back  what 
I  tell  you.  They  claimed  they  would  tight  the  State  in  a 
lawsuit. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  What  have  Perin  &  Gaff  paid  you 
in  February  ? 

A.  Perm  &  Gaff  have  not  paid  more  than  what  is  on  that 
book,  $300. 

Q.  Haven't  they  or  one  of  them  paid  more  than  that  in  the 
last  month  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  $1,000  was  paid  last  Saturday, 
-either  by  Perin  or  Perin  &  Gaff  Manufacturing  Company,  or 
by  Gaff  himself  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know.  I  will  look  that  up.  I  presumed 
the  clerk  put  everything  on  there.  * 

Q.     Why  is  it  that  the  books  are  not  posted  for  January  ? 

A.     The  board  has  not  met  to  act  upon  them. 

Mr.  Huett  recalled.  FEBRUARY  18. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten :  State  if  you  ever  kept  any  record  of 
the  amount  of  bread  from  the  prison  that  was  used  by  the  War- 
den or  Deputy  Warden  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  never  have. 

Q.  State  if  Mr.  Allen,  the  Steward,  ever  made  any  reports 
to  you  of  the  amounts  ? 

A.  Yes;  he  has  at  times,  and  I  communicated  the  report  to 
Captain  Howard  and  he  would  say  it  was  all  right.  He  would 
say,  "  That  is  all  right ;  I  will  attend  to  that."  It  was  never 
put  on  the  books. 

Q.     How  many  years  has  that  matter  been  going  on  ? 

A.  If  you  will  look  back  on  the  cash  book  I  think  you  will 
find,  in  1882,  where  Captain  Howard  paid  some  money  into  the 
treasury,  on  account  of  provisions,  but  since  that  time  he  has 
paid  nothing  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  much  bread  they  use?  How  many 
barrels  of  flour  a  month  that  is  taken  out  ? 

A.  No,  I  could  not  say.  I  have,  time  and  time  again,  noticed 
bread  going  out  day  after  day,  but  I  don't  know  where  it  went. 
I  never  kept  account  of  anything  that  went  out. 


28 

Q.     Is  there  any  money  on  hand  in  this  institution  ? 

A.     I  do  not  know  of  any. 

Q.     Any  in  the  safe? 

A.     I  have  not  access  to  the  safe. 

Q.     Who  is  this  boy  that  will  be  pardoned  out  to-morrow. 

A.     Walter  Hurt. 

Q.     It  is  your  duty  to  pay  these  men  when  discharged  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 
Deputy  Warden  Baxter  called. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     Have  you  any  money  belonging  to  the 
State  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  have  no  State  funds  at  all. 

77  t 


FEBKUARY  19. 
Mr.  Huett  recalled. 

Statement:  I  just  saw  Captain  Howard,  and  I  said  to  him — 
says  I,  "Captain  Howard,  for  God's  sake, if  you  don't  payback 
any  money,  do  pay  back  the  money  you  borrowed  from  that 
convict.  It  is  a  matter  of  justice  and  it  is  a  matter  of  right, 
and  the  man  ought  to  have  his  money ;"  and  I  told  him  I 
wanted  it,  and  here  it  is — $2,200.  I  want  to  put  it  before  the 
Committee.  And  he  requested  that  Captain  Baxter  give  him  a 
receipt  for  it,  he  being  Acting  Warden. 
Captain  Sanders  recalled. 

Statement :  I  want  to  have  it  put  in  bank  and  see  the  certifi- 
cate of  deposit. 

The  money  was  turned  over  by  the  Committe  to  the  Deputy 
Warden,  Mr.  Baxter,  Acting  Warden. 
Further  examination  of  Mr.  Huett. 

By  Mr.  Alexander : 

Q.    I  wish  to  ask  you  about  the  beef. 

A.  About  the  beef?  I  am  never  here  in  the  morning  when 
it  comes. 

Do  you  know  where  it  comes  from — from  Louisville  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir — that  is,  recently.  This  is  only  hearsay ;  I  don't 
know  who  I  heard  it  from,  but  from  guards  I  think;  if  I  un- 
derstood it  right  that  meat  had  been  delivered  here  and  that 
George  Howard  in  some  way  got  the  benefit  of  a  portion  of  it, 
in  what  way  I  can't  tell. 

Q.     What  do  you  know  about  any  rebate  being  made. 

A.     I  don't  know  one  single  thing  about  it. 


29 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  the  Warden  say  anything  about  it  or 
any  of  his  employes  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  much  was  paid  per  pound  for  the 
beef? 

A.     The  bill  states  6  cents. 

Q.  If  it  was  6  cents  a  pound  you  would  know  how  much 
beef  had  been  furnished  in  a  certain  time. 

A.  The  vouchers  will  show  that  the  bills  came  in  for  some- 
times thirteen  rations  and  sometimes  fourteen  rations.  I  think 
fourteen  rations  was  the  usual  amount  per  month,  and  if  I 
recollect  aright,  the  ration  cost  something  like  $42 — 700  pounds 
a  ration. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  about  the  beef  contract;  do  you 
think  there  is  any  rebate  ? 

A.     I  think  there  is  a  rebate  there. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Pleak :     How  do  you  think  it  is  managed  ? 

A.  Well,  I  could  not  tell  you  that.  I  know  that  Mr.  Allen 
attends  to  that  meat  business,  and  I  know  that  whenever  (nine 
times  out  of  ten)  a  check  for  the  meat  was  delivered,  it  was  de- 
livered to  Mr.  Allen.  Now,  how  much  the  rebate  was,  if  there 
was  any,  I  don't  know. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Osborne :  Was  the  meat  re-weighed  when  it  got 
here  ? 

A.     I  don't  know. 

Q.     Did  you  have  any  means  of  re-weighing  it  here? 

A.  I  don't  know.  I  suppose  surely  they  would,  but  I  don't 
know  that  it  ever  was. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander  :  If  there  was  any  rebate,  who  do  you 
suppose  got  the  benefit  of  this  money? 

A.  If  there  was  any  rebate,  I  suppose  Captain  Allen  got  the 
benefit  of  it. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Osborne  :     How  long  have  you  been  here  ? 

A.     Seven. years,  not  counting  the  time  I  was  away. 

Q.     When  were  the  wagon  scales  outside  taken  away  ? 

A.     Four  years  ago. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak  :  Do  you  know  the  price  they  paid  for 
coal? 

A.     I  think  10  cents. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  What  is  your  best  impression — that 
there  waft  not  a  rebate  on  everything  ? 


30 

A.  I  don't  know;  I  should  suppose  there  was,  because  I 
•don't  think,  if  there  was  not  something  to  be  made  outside  of 
the  Warden's  salary,  that  he  could  live  on  his  salary. 

Q.     State  whether  he  has  been  extravagant  in  his  living. 

A.  I  couldn't  say  that.  Well,  a  man  occupying  as  high 
position  as  he  does  must  spend,  and  he  has  a  family  there,  and 
I  think  entertains  a  good  deal. 

Q.     Does  he  have  any  large  parties  ? 

A.     No,  I  can't  say  that  he  does. 

Q.  What  is  your  best  impression  as  to  supplies  that  were 
furnished  him  to  live  on — as  to  whether  he  bought  them,  or 
whether  he  took  the  provisions  and  supplies  that  belonged  to 
this  institution  ? 

A.  I  am  just  giving  my  impression  ;  I  think  a  great  deal  of 
the  provisions  that  went  to  the  Warden's  and  Deputy  Warden's 
houses  was  from  here. 

Q.  You  don't  know  of  their  ever  accounting  for  anything 
that  went  from  here  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  You  never  heard  of  their  charging  themselves  up  with 
it  and  settling  with  the  Directors? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  the  Directors  visiting  the 
prison  every  month  ? 

A.  Oh,  they  have  never  done  that.  They  just  meet  when 
they  have  to  pass  on  the  accounts. 

Q.     State  what  else  they  do. 

A.  Well,  they  audit  the  accounts.  They  go  to  the  prison 
and  listen  to  the  complaints  of  prisoners. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  when  prisoners  majse  complaints  be- 
fore them,  don't  they  then  bring  in  the  guards  and  persons  con- 
nected with  the  institution  and  hear  their  side,  and  don't  they 
take  their  side  of  the  case  in  preference  to  that  of  the  con- 
victs'. 

A.  My  impression  is  that  a  convicts's  word  does  not  go 
"very  far  with  them. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  Have  you  any  knowledge  of  any  ar- 
rangement between  the  contractors  and  Directors  here  in  which 
there  has  been  money  consideration  ;  that  the  Directors  had 
paid  by  these  contractors  ? 


31 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  do  not  know  of  any.  Never  had  any  reason- 
to  believe  there  is  any. 

Q.  Have  you  any  reason  for  believing  that  there  was  be- 
tween the  Warden  and  the  contractors  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  how  to  answer  that  question.  I 
don't  hardly  think  there  is.  I  don't  know. 

Q.  State  if  such  a  thing  as  that  should  occur,  could  you 
detect  it  through  your  book-keeping? 

A.     Oh,  yes;  I  think  I  could,  sir. 

Q.  Then,  if  there  was  any  arrangement,  without  your  knowl- 
edge, it  would  have  to  be  outside  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  At  the  time  the  Directors  met  here 
and  elected  the  Warden  the  last  time,  what,  if  anything,  was 
said  about  his  giving  additional  bond?  Did  you  give  any 
bond,  or  the  Deputy  Warden  ?  What  was  said  about  it  at  the 
time? 

A.  I  think  that  the  question  of  bond  came  up,  and  I  think 
that  the  Warden  spoke  of  it  on  one  or  two  occasions.  Say& 
he:  "I  will  have  to  get  up  a  new  bond,"  and,  if  I  recollect 
aright,  I  think  the  Directors  asked  him  to  do  so.  I  think  they 
did. 

Q.  Do  you  have  to  be  re-elected  at  the  same  time  the 
Warden  is? 

A.  Well,  the  clerk  is  elected  indefinitely.  The  Warden 
said,  whenever  the  question  was  brought  up,  he  said  he  was 
the  only  one  elected  for  a  definite  time. 

Q.  At  the  time  they  met  here  and  he  was  re-elected,  you 
say  there  was  something  said  about  his  giving  a  bond ;  what 
steps  were  taken  in  regard  to  it? 

A.  I  do  not  think  any  steps  were  taken  ;  not  to  my  knowl- 
edge. 

Q.     The  minutes  would  show,  wouldn't  they  ? 

A.     I  could  not  say  that. 

Q.     How  many  bonds  have  you  filed  ? 

A.  Two,  I  think.  I  have  not  filed  a  bond  since  I  came 
back. 

Q.     Do  you  know  you  have  to  file  a  bond  for  $10,000  ? 

A.  I  did  so  seven  years  ago.  My  bond  is  with  the  Treasurer 
of  State  now,  with  ten  and  a-half  millions  represented  on  it. 


82          ' 

Q.  Did  Captain  Baxter  file  a  bond  when  he  was  elected 
Deputy  Warden  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir ;  on  the  15th  of  September. 

Q.  You  say  there  'was  talk  about  his  giving  additional 
bond — do  you  know  of  any  reason  why  it  was  not  done? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Did  you  ever  hear  the  Directors  say  anything  about  it? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  think  Captain  Howard  called  my  attention  to 
the  necessity  of  his  filing  bond.  I  don't  know  what  they  ever 
said  to  him  about  it. 

Q.  At  the  time  the  Directors  met  and  elected  a  Warden, 
wojild  it  not  be  your  place  to  make  minutes  of  the  meeting? 

A.  I  thought  so,  but  he  would  never  allow  me  to.  The  only 
minutes  I  made  up  would  be  at  unimportant  meetings.  At  im- 
portant meetings  I  was  never  allowed  to  make  up  the  minutes. 

Q.     Was  anything  ever  said  about  your  staying  out? 

A.     No ;  I  never  was  invited. 

Q.     Has  the  Board  a  secretary? 

A.  I  believe  Mr.  Horn  is  secretary.  If  he  is  absent  they 
have  secretary  pro  tern. 

Q.     Were  their  meetings  secret  ? 

A.  Why,  lately,  since  I  got  back  from  Lawrenceburg,  Mr. 
Horn  has  always  insisted  on  my  being  present. 

Q.     You  left  for  Lawrenceburg;  when  did  you  come  back? 

A.     I  came  back  the  1st  of  last  March. 

Q.     Have  you  filed  a  bond  since  you  came  back? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Did  you  go  to  stay  away  when  you  left? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  can  not  say  I  left  permanently.  Another 
clerk  was  appointed  pro  tern.  I  thought  if  I  did  not  like  it  I 
would  come  back.  My  salary  as  Chief  Deputy  at  Lawrence- 
burg  was  worth  $2,000,  here  I  am  only  getting  $1,000.  That 
seems  like  a  very  strange  proceeding,  and  I  wish  to  explain  it. 
When  I  went  to  Lawrenceburg,  I  got  there  with  my  family  on 
the  12th  day  of  August.  On  the  12th  day  of  January  my 
adopted  daughter  died.  After  she  died,  my  wife  became  home- 
sick and  heart-broken  and  wanted  to  come  back  here,  and,  of 
course,  I  could  not  afford  to  stay  there,  she  and  the  rest  of  the 
family  feeling  that  way.  I  have  this  property  here ;  I  could 
not  rent  it  to  advantage.  I  was  paying  $200  a  year  rent  up 
there,  and  then,  when  I  came  back  here,  what  I  made  over  and 
above  my  salary  of  $1,000. 


83 

Q.     How  did  you  make  that? 

A.  I  made  it  selling  goods  to  convicts.  He  gave  me  the 
privilege  of  selling  goods  to  convicts.  J[  suppose  I  make— may- 
be average — $20  to  $25  a  month.  If  I  had  been  getting  $5,000 
at  Lawrenceburg  I  could  not  afford,  with  the  discontent  in  my 
family,  to  have  remained. 

Q.  At  these  meetings  were  you  present  at  Mr.  Horn's  sug- 
gestion or  at  his  request  ? 

A.  1  was  present  at  his  request  when  they  compared  ac- 
counts. Their  other  business  I  had  nothing  to  do  with.  I 
usually  retired  then. 

Q.     Did  they  ever  say  anything  about  your  retiring  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  Howard  ever  say  anything  as  to  your  going  out  or 
staying  out? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  his  talk  ever  indicate  to  you  that  he  would  rather 
you  would  be  away  than  present? 

A.  Well,  if  I  thought  my  presence  was  not  needed  or  agree- 
able, I  wtmld  not  stay. 

Q.  Did  they  ever  have  any  private  conversation  with  you, 
while  he  was  in  here? 

A.     No,  sir ;  not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  What  was  the  general  line  of  business  in  looking  over 
the  accounts  when  they  had  meetings,  for  instance,  in  looking 
over  bills? 

A.  They  never  inquired  any  about  the  money  that  was  on 
hand.  I  think  they  went  over  the  bills  pretty  thoroughly. 

Q.  Did  they  ever  examine  your  books  or  ask  you  when 
Captain  Howard  was  not  present? 

A.  No,  sir.  On  frequent  occasions,  and  they  will  bear  me 
out,  I  have  called  their  attention  to  the  manner  in  which  the 
books  are  kept,  and  that  they  were  not  kept  as  I  should  keep 
them,  but,  of  course,  I  had  nothing  to  do  only  to  obey  the  or- 
ders of  the  Warden.  For  instance,  I  remember  on  one  occasion 
when  Captain  Horn  called  the  attention  of  Dr.  Wilson  to  this 
fact.  That  was  after  I  had  spoken  to  Captain  Horn.  Says  he, 
"Doctor,  this  is  the  cash  book,  isn't  it?"  He  says,  "Yes." 
"Well,"'  says  he,  "do  you  think  when  we  come  here  and  audit 
these  bills  that  the  vouchers  as  shown  here  on  the  cash  book, 
representing  bills,  do  you  think  they  are  all  paid  ?"  Dr.  Wilson 

3 — PRISON. 


34 

said,  "Why,  yes;  of  course."  "Well."  he  says,  "they  are  not." 
Then  they  said  that  mus^  not  be  so:  that  must  be  looked  into, 
or  something  to  that  eftect. 

<<>.  Is  it  not  true  that  there  are  bills  represented  here  that 
they  audited  as  paid  that  really  were  not  paid  ? 

A.  My  goodness,  yes:  month  after  month.  Now,  although 
there  is  a  reflection  cast  upon  me,  I  believe  I  know  how  to 
keep  books.  Now,  if  any  of  you  gentlemen  understand  any- 
thing about  book-keeping,  supposing  the  books  were  audited 
to-day,  the  cash-book  was  thrown  open.  Of  course  the  debit 
side  will  show  the  receipts  and  the  .credit  side  the  disburse- 
ments. It  don't  do  it  here.  Suppose  I  take  any  one  man's 
account — say  Eakin's  account — and  posted  it  from  the  cash- 
book  to  ledger  as  being  paid  when  it  was  not  paid,  wouldn't 
that  have  been  a  fraudulent  entry  ?  That  was  the  reason  I 
did  not  keep  a  ledger.  On  the  morning  the  Senate  Committee 
was  here,  which  statement  can  be  corroborated,  I  paid  a  bill  of 
$425  to  Mr.  Harvey  McOampbell,  the  president  of  the  Second 
National  Bank,  that  was  audited  last  March.  Supposing  I  had 
entered  that  account  last  March  when  it  was  audited,  would 
that  have  been  a  true  exhibit  of  that  man's  account?  It  could 
not  be. 

(v).  Did  you  ever  inform  the  Directors  that  some  of  these 
bills  audited  paid  were  not  paid  :  that  they  audited  them  as 
paid  when  they  were  not  paid  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir  ;  I  have. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     How  often  did  you  notify  them  ? 

A.     Oh,  I  don't  know  how  many  times. 

<^.  Very  often  ?  Sufficient  for  them  to  have  taken  account 
of  it  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

<,>.  By  Mr.  Alexander  :  How  long  has  that  been  going  ou 
since  they  had  notice  of  it? 

A.     Ever  since  they  had  office. 

Q.     Did  these  transactions  extend  over  any  length  of  time? 

A.  Well,  take  the  salary  account,  it  was  never  paid  until 
two  or  three  months  after,  but  they  audited  it  on  the  credit 
side  of  the  cash-book. 

Q.  That  has  been  the  system  ever  since  the  present  Direct- 
ors were  in  office? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 


35 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  Who  directed  you  to  keep  the  account 
that  way? 

A.     Captain  Howard. 

Q.  When  you  called  his  attention  to  the  necessity  of  keep- 
ing a  ledger  account,  can  you  state  what  his  instructions  were  ? 

A.  Well,  every  entry  made  on  there  was  by  his  order. 
Sometimes,  as  the  Directors  can  tell  you,  the  cash-hook  would 
not  be  made  up  until  after  they  had  been  here  half  a  day,  some- 
times a  day.  He  would  call  me  and  say:  "  Well,  what  vouch- 
ers have  you  got  that  are  paid?"  I  wofild  give  him  the  list. 
"  For  what  month  do  we  owe  Eakin  or  Sparks  ? v  1  would 
give  him  the  accounts,  and  then  he  would  put  them  in  to  aug- 
ment, to  increase  the  debit  side  of  cash  when  they  were  not 
paid. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  About  this  convict  fund.  I  see 
from  the  books  that  it  is  represented  that  a  number  of  convicts 
take  a  paper  called  the  "Jefferson ville  Times;"  what  do  you 
know  about  prisoners  being  compelled  to  take  that  paper? 

A.  I  could  not  say  that  any  of  the  prisoners  were  compelled 
to  take  it,  but  know  that  Martin,  the  Librarian,  was  in  the 
habit  of  going  around  among  the  convicts  and  taking  subscrip- 
tions for  the  Times,  as  the  books  will  show. 

<j>.  What  do  you  know  about  any  false  entries  in  regard  to 
prisoners  taking  .the  Times,  when  they  did  not  order  it? 

A.  There  never  was  a  spurious  entry  in  that  convict  account. 
I  know  that  because  I  have  exclusive  control  over  that  busi- 
ness. That  is,  the  man  goes  around  and  brings  me  the  orders. 
That  is  all  I  know  about  it.  I  have  an  order  for  every  entry 
on  the  book. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak :  What  is  your  best  impression  of  the 
number  of  copies  of  the  Times  taken  by  the  convicts'.' 

A.     I  suppose  about  in  the  neghborhood  of  fifty. 

Q.  ,  About  that  number  regularly'.' 

A.     Well,  it   fluctuates.     Sometimes    the    subscriptions   are 

rger;  sometimes  not  so  much. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  When  the  Directors  would  come 
here,  and  they  would  know  some  of  these  bills  were  not  paid 
and  audited  as  paid,  did  they  ever  examine  your  books? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  their  ordering  the  business 
done  differently  than  what  it  had  been  ? 


36 

A.  They  never  did.  They  never  ordered  it  made  in  any 
way. 

Q.     Just  went  on  in  the  same  way? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  In  reference  to  what  is  called  the 
visitors'  fund,  state  the  manner  of  receiving  that  fund  and  ac- 
counting for  it. 

A.  That  fund  has  been  handled  by  three  of  four  men. 
That  is  the  way  of  selling  tickets.  When  I  sold  a  ticket  I  kept 
an  account  of  it,  and  all  the  tickets  that  went  into  that  box 
that  I  sold  I  made  account  of  to  the  Warden. 

Q.     How  ? 

A.     I  would  give  him  the  money. 

Q.     Did  you  make  any  book  account  ? 

A.     There  is  a  small  book  account  of  it. 

Q.     Did  you  just  lump  it  at  the  end  of  the  day? 

A.  Every  month,  not  daily.  That  visitors'  fund,  if  every 
person  had  been  charged  that  went  in,  of  course,  would  be  a 
pretty  large  amount,  but  I  know  of  many  instances  where 
parties  of  forty  and  fifty  went  through  and  never  paid  a  cent. 

Q.     State  how  you  kept  account  of  that  fund. 

A.     I  kept  it  in  a  small  side  book. 

Q.  You  paid  the  money  as  it  came  into  your  hands  to  the 
Warden  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Then  you  say  others  sold  the  tickets  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     Who  took  up  the  money  ? 

A.     I  don't  know  anything  about  that. 

Q.     Who  else  sold? 

A.     Sometimes  Mr.  Bellew,  a  guard. 

Q.     What  did  he  do  with  the  money? 

A.  I  can  not  say  as  to  that ;  I  have  received  money  from 
him  and  accounted  for  it  with  mine. 

Q.     How  many  tickets  were  sold  outside  of  your  office? 

A.  I  don't  know ;  it  was  a  loose  way ;  anybody  has  access 
to  the  office. 

Q.  And  when  the  tickets  were  sold  and  were  deposited  in 
the  boxes,  then  you  went  out  there  and  took  these  tickets  out 
of  the  box  ? 


37 

"A.  Yes,  sir,  I  always  found  my  tickets  there;  the  tickets 
always  corresponded  with  my  cash. 

Q.     I  understood  you  to  say  there  were  two  boxes. 

A.     No,  sir,  there  is  only  one  box. 

Q.  If  you  found  scattered  tickets  in  there — say  you  had 
only  received  pay  for  twenty-five  tickets,  did  you  just  give 
credit  for  twenty-five  tickets  ? 

A.  Why,  on  two  or  three  occasions  I  found,  maybe  all  in 
all,  twenty-five  tickets,  if  I  recollect  aright,  that  could  not  be 
accounted  for,  and  I  know  that  my  account  was  right.  I  called 
Captain  Howard's  attention  to  it,  and  he  said  he  did  not  know 
anything  about  it ;  he  would  see  to  it. 

Q.  Then,  when  you  found  an.  excess  number  of  tickets,  you 
only  accounted  for  your  own  ? 

A.     Only  those  I  was  personally  accountable  for. 

Q.     What  about  your  safe? 

A.  The  safe  is  worth  about  a  quarter  of  a  dollar.  I  want 
to  say  I  never  had  access  to  this  safe.  Of  course,  I  called  his 
attention  to  it  in  the  placing  of  the  books. 

Q.     In  case  of  fire,  the  books  would  be  totally  destroyed  ? 

A.  It  looks  to  me  that  way.  I  had  a  racket  with  him  sev- 
eral times  about  it.  I  called  his  attention  to  the  books  being 
exposed,  and  almost  daily  here  lately,  a  convict  was  allowed  to 
go  and  look  at  my  convict  ledger  and  see  how  the  different  ac- 
counts of  the  men  stood.  I  don't  know  for  what  reason  it  was 
done.  I  suppose  it  was  to  see  whether  the  men  had  money 
enough  to  buy  papers,  and  I  told  him  that  there  was  no  security. 
Instead  of  being  in  the  safe  as  they  ought  to  be,  they  are  al- 
lowed to  remain  exposed  and  accessible  to  anybody. 

Q.  The  Warden,  in  answer  to  a  question  to  state  and  pro- 
duce the  amount  of  cash  he  had  on  hand,  made  the  following 
reply  :  "  As  Warden  of  the  Southern  State  Prison  of  the  State 
of  Indiana,  I  am  willing  to  and  do  admit  tliat  the  books  of  the 
Southern  State  Prison  show  a  larger  amount  due  the  State 
greater  than  I  can  now  account  for  and  more  than  I  am  able 
or  willing  to  pay,  believing,  as  I  do,  that  the  books  are  incor- 
rect, and  that  I  am  entitled  to  credits  which  the  books  do  not 
show."  What  have  you  to  say  to  that? 

A.  In  answer  to  that,  I  will  state  emphatically  and  posi- 
tively that  these  books  were  kept  just  as  they  were  found,  ac- 
cording to  his  knowledge  and  order,  and  that  is  the  truth,  gen- 
tlemen. 


Q.  By  Mr.  Sinclair  :  Have  you  any  separate  book  of  your 
own  by  which  you  would  know  better  how  things  stood  than 
you  did  with  these  present  books  V 

A.  I  have  a  ledger — Mr.  Coons  has  it — that  I  got  up  for  my 
own  benefit  to  know  how  these  contractors  stood.  That  is 
the  small  book  with  the  red  back.  So  that  I  could  see,  for  in- 
stance, what  we  owed  Eakin  or  what  the  contractors  owed  us. 
It  was  impracticable  to  keep  a  ledger  from  the  loose  way  of 
business  we  had.  I  could  not  make  a  ledger  account  of  an  ac- 
count that  was  paid  on  one  book,  and  was  not  paid,  could  I? 

Q.  You  kept  this  private  book  for  your  own  special  benefit,. 
to  see  what  you  were  doing'' 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     And  you  kept  these  other  books  just  as  Howard  said'' 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  This  underclothing  that  you  sell, 
we  have  heard  some  complaint  of  its  being  sold  for  two  prices 'r 

A.  I  can  show  you  the  underclothing  I  have.  Of  course,  I 
want  to  make  a  little  money,  but  then  I  would  not  be  extor- 
tionate on  the  prisoners,  and  they  will  bear  me  out;  nine  out 
of  ten  will  state  to  you  I  have  sold  very  reasonable.  Take  the 
article  of  soap;  it  costs  me  on  an  average  sixteen  cents  for 
three  bars.  I  sell  that  for  twenty-five  cents.  They  are  not 
bound  to  buy  from  me.  I  see  in  some  paper  where  the  con- 
victs had  stated  that  goods  coming  here  for  them,  in  our  care, 
had  never  been  turned  over.  I  most  solemnly  swear  that  all 
goods  that  have  come  for  any  convict  I  turned  over  to  them. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  What  is  the  reason  a  box  of  goods 
sent  to  Mr.  May  field,,  from  Sullivan  County,  was  kept  for  four 
or  five  weeks  and  then  returned ': 

A.  They  might  have  been  contraband  goods ;  for  instance, 
eatables  or  oranges ;  the  Warden  will  not  allow  them  inside.  I 
can  solemnly  swear  that  any  article  of  clothing  that  ever  came, 
to  my  knowledge,  I  sent  for  the  man  and  gave  it  to  him. 

Q.     What  is  done  with  the  contraband  goods  ? 

A.  I  don't  know.  1  think  they  are  generally  sent  buck.  I 
can  state  that  everything  that  comes  in  my  possession  I  put  in 
a  drawer  over  there  and  label  it. 

Q.     What  about  these  unopened  letters': 

A.  I  only  open  letters  during  the  absence  of  the  Warden, 
and  then  only  letters  that  are  addressed  to  him  as  Warden. 


39 

FEBRUARY  28. 

M.  I.  Huette  recalled. 

g.  By  Mr.  Patten:  What  do  you  know  about  this  brick- 
yard account? 

A.  Before  I  came  here  as  Clerk,  if  I  recollect  aright,  on  the 
31st  day  of  May,  there  was  $6,000  paid  over  by  Col.  Merry- 
weather,  but  there  have  been  debits  and  credits  on  that  account, 
I  should  think,  to  four  years  ago  :  and  then  all  I  know  is  what 
Captain  Howard  told  me,  that,  there  was  about  $2,700  or  $2,800 
unaccounted  for,  but  1  have  not  seen  that  brick-yard  book  for 
some  time  :  but  the  receipts  and  disbursements  on  that  account 
run  over  $6,000 — twice  that  much,  I  guess.  Mr.  Coons,  when 
he  made  up  his  balance-sheet,  estimated  it  at  $3,000,  and  it 
seems  that  he  had  made  an  arrangement  to  meet  Captain  How- 
ard and  discuss  this  business  ;  and  on  the  Saturday  he  was  over 
the  river,  in  the  evening  when  he  came  back,  I  told  him  that 
Captain  Howard  had  asked  to  see  him,  and  he  made  some  kind 
of  reply  that,  "Oh,  I  guess  he  did  not  want  to  see  me."  Then 
he  said,  instead  of  estimating  the  brick-yard  account  at  $3,000 
he  guessed  he  had  better  estimate  it  at  $5,000.  I  told  him  I 
did  not  know  anything  about  the  brick-yard  account;  that  I 
would  not  be  surprised  if  he  could  estimate  it  at  that. 

Q.     You  have  not  got  that  brick-yard  book'r 

A.  No,  sir,  I  guess  it  is  at  Captain  Howard's  house.  He 
took  books,  papers,  etc.,  away  from  here,  and  took  them  to  his 
house. 

<,>.  State  if  you  know  anything  about  what  was  done  with 
the  cats  used  in  the  prison. 

A.  I  never  saw  these  cats  but  once.  This  Directors'  room 
then  was  a  store-room,  and  I  used  to  see  Captain  Craig  come 
here  every  day  or  so.  I  knew  very  well  what  he  came  in  for, 
because  on  several  occasions  I  heard  the  men  halloo  in  punish- 
ment, and  knew  what  he  did,  although  I  never  saw  it.  The 
only  time  I  saw  the  cat  was  about  four  years  ago.  There  was 
investigating  committee  here,  and  there  were  some  ladies 

ith  the  committee,  and — well,  they  were  exhibited  to  these 
adies,  and  I  saw  them. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  How  long  ago  is  it  since  cats  have 
been  used? 

A.     I  think  it  is  four  years  this  March. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten:     Why  did  they  cease  to  use  cats? 


40 

A.  I  could  not  tell  you  about  that.  I  suppose  from  the  way 
Captain  Howard  always  talked  that  it  was  through  his  instru- 
raentality  that  they  were  abolished,  by  reason  of  having  this 
good-time  law  passed. 

Q.     How  many  cats  did  they  have,  a  big  and  a  small  one  ? 

A.     I  only  saw  one. 

Q.     How  long  was  that? 

A.  I  should  judge  the  strips  on  it  were  about  eighteen 
inches ;  the  whole  concern  was  about  three  feet  or  so. 

Q.  State  if  you  know  of  any  transaction  between  Captain 
Howard  and  Col.  Shay,  in  reference  to  an  envelope. 

A.  Yes,  sir,  I  have  seen  the  envelope.  I  saw  the  envelope 
about  two  and  a  half  years  ago. 

Q.     How  was  it  directed  ? 

A.  If  I  recollect  aright  it  was  addressed  "  Col.  Thomas 
Shay.  Private."  I  think  that  was  the  only  indorsement  there 
was  on  it. 

Q.     Did  it  contain  anything  ? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  it  had  some  papers  in  it.  I  think  it  was  a 
yellow  envelope,  and  I  suppose  it  contained  papers,  about  one- 
quarter  of  an  inch  thick. 

Q.     Did  you  handle  it? 

A.  Well,  in  passing  over  envelopes,  I  handled  it;  yes,  sir. 
I  never  knew  the  contents  of  it.  It  was  sealed. 

Q.     What  relation  did  Col.  Shay  have  to  this  institution  ? 

A.  He  was  a  Director  in  1879.  He  was  here  about  two 
years,  I  think.  The  Directors  were  Col.  Shay  and  Mr.  Linck 
and  P.  L.  D.  Mitchell,  from  Bloomington. 

Q.  State  if  you  knew  anything  as  to  what  the  envelope 
contained. 

A.  I  don't  know.  I  have  an  impression  that  it  contained 
matters  relating  to  the  cell-house. 

Q.     Was  that  new  cell-house  being  constructed  at  that  time? 

A.  Well,  I  saw  this  envelope  after  the  cell -house  was  com- 
pleted. 

Q.     State  about  the  time  it  was  completed. 

A.  I  think  the  cell-house  was  constructed  in  1884.  Sweeney 
&  McCormick  were  the  contractors  on  the  cell-house. 

Q.       What  did  Colonel  Shay  have  to  do  with  it? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  what  he  had  to  do  with  it  that  time. 
I  know  there  was  a  great  deal  of  discussion  going  on,  and  the 
Sweeney  Bros,  were  here  and  Mr.  McCormick  was  here. 


41 

Q.     Was  there  any  money  drawn  out — do  the  books  show 
Colonel  Shay  received  any  money  at  that  time  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Do  you  know  whether  that  envelope  contained  money  ? 

A.     I  could  not  say  that  it  did. 

Q.     Did   you   make   any   papers    or   reports    to   be  sent   to 
Colonel  Shay  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  never  did.  , 

Q.     Was  he  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Directors,  or  did  they 
have  any  chairman? 

A.     They  never  did  until  here  lately.     I  think  he  was  the 
senior  member  of  the  Board. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander :     Did  you  ever  have  any  conversa- 
tion with  Captain  Howard  about  that  envelope  ? 

A.  Captain  Howard  never  told  me  anything  about  it.  I 
don't  want  to  do  the  man  any  injustice  at  all,  but  then  I  sup- 
pose it  was  matters  pertaining  to  this  cell-house  business.  I 
don't  know  the  nature  of  the  papers.  I  want  to  say,  gentle- 
men, that  on  Saturday  Mr;  McCampbell,  president  of  the 
National  Bank.  I  had  passed  the  bank  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street,  and  he  called  me  back,  Friday  or  Saturday,  I  think  Satur- 
day, and  he  says,  "Captain,  do  you  know  anything  about  that 
acceptance  of  Patten  &  Co."  "  Why,"  says  I,  "  I  don't  know 
what  you  are  talking  about."  Neither  did  I.  He  wanted  to 
know  if  that  transaction  was  legitimate.  Says  I,  "  I  don't 
known  what  you  are  talking  about."  He'  says,  "Oh,  I  thought 
maybe  you  knew  all  about  it.  There  was  an  acceptance  in 
favor  of  Captain  Howard  by  the  Patten  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. Did  not  you  get  him  some  drafts  ?  "  I  told  him  Mr. 
Allen,  for  Captain  Howard,  asked  me  to  get  some  blank  drafts 
at  the  Citizens'  National  and  also  at  the  other  National,  and  I 
did  so  and  gave  them  in  blank.  "  Well,  that  was  what  it  was, 
and  I  wanted  to  know  if  that  was  all  right."  I  said,  "I  can 
tell  you  the  Patten  Manufacturing  Company  is  a  legitimate 
firm ;  whether  that  transaction  was  legitimate  or  not,  I  do  not 
know."  Now,  what  that  transaction  was  I  do  not  know. 
Q.  Do  you  know  the  amount  ? 
A.  I  won't  be  certain  but  what  he  said  $2,000. 
Q.  Who  is  the  superintendent  of  the  Patten  Mfg.  Co.? 
A.  Wm.  D.  Patten. 
W.  D.  Patten,  being  first  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows  : 


42 

Q.  P>y  Mr.  Patten  :  Mr.  Huette  make  your  statement,  as 
above.  Xow,  I  wish  you  to  state,  Mr.  Patten,  what  transac- 
tion you  had  with  Captain  Howard  in  reference  to  that  mat- 
ter ? 

A.     1  have  not  had  any  transaction  with  Captain  Howard. 

Q.     Did  you  advance  him  any  money  ? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  did  not ;  I  advanced  no  money  to  the  State  to* 
any  one,  nor  to  any  of  the  officials. 

Q.     When  did  you  start  in  on  your  contract.? 

A.     We  virtually  started  in  on  the  1st  of  January. 

(}.     How  much  ha\e  you  paid  in  ''. 

A.  We  have  not  paid  anything  in.  I  have  mentioned  once 
or  twice  I  would  like  to  have  a  bill  for  the  labor,  but  never 
had.  Mr.  Huette  said  he  called  Captain  Howard's  attention  to 
it,  and  he  said  he  would  see  about  it.  The  last  time  anything 
was  said  about  money,  I  think  it  was  a  few  days  before  this 
committee  came  here.  The  Captain  spoke  about  money  thenr 
and  I  told  him  \ve  were  ready  to  pay  whenever  the  bills  were 
presented  to  us. 

David  M.  Allen,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  State  what  position  you  hold  in  this 
prison  ? 

A.     I  am  Steward. 

Q.     State  if  you  purchase  the  supplies  of  the  institution  ? 

A.     I  do,  under  the  order  and  directions  of  the  Warden. 

Q.     Where  do  you  purchase  your  beef  V 

A.  Of  a  man  named  Bloom,  in  Louisville,  for  lust  year  and 
a  half. 

Q.     Before  that  time  who  did  you  purchase  of? 

A.     Of  a  man  named  John  Duff,  in  Louisville. 

Q.     State  what  kind  of  beef  you  buy  ? 

A.  This  man  Bloom  is  what  is  called  a  wholesale  butcher,, 
kills  from  six  to  eight.  He  sells  the  loin  and  standing-  ribs  to 
the  steamboats  and  to  the  hotels,  and  we  get  the  balance.  We 
get  the  brisket  and  the  shoulder  and  the  balance  of  the  beef 
except  the  loin,  rib  and  round,  that  is,  one  part  of  the  round. 

Q.     What  price  do  you  have  to  pay  for  beef? 

A.     Six  cents  a  pound. 

Q.     Is  that  a  first-class  price  ? 

A.     That  is. 


43 

Q.  Can  not  you  buy  beef  from  any  other  point,  or  from  the 
«ame  point,  at  the  same  price  without  any  select  parts  being1 
taken  away? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  think  not.  We  tried  to  butcher  here  when 
Captain  Howard  first  became  Warden,  and  it  is  an  actual  fact 
that  this  kind  of  beef  Bloom  sells  is  worth  8fJ  to  4  cents  on 
foot,  and  it  takes  a  good  steer  to  net  50  per  cent.;  55  per  cent. 
is  an  extra  steer.  Then  the  butcher  has  the  head  and  tail. 

Q.  State  if  any  of  that  beef  is  ever  used  by  any  of  the 
officers  of  this  Institution,  taken  out  without  being  accounted 
for? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Do  they  occasionally  take  beef? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Osborn:  Do  the  butchers  furnish  them  beef  on 
their  own  account  ? 

A.  Captain  Howard  buys  his  beef  here  at  Fisher's,  and  has 
never  had  a  pound  of  beef  from  Bloom  since  he  has  furnished 
it.  Captain  Craig  at  one  time  bought  beef  for  his  boarding 
house,  but  that  was  separate  and  distinct;  that  was  his  private 
business.  It  never  entered  in  our  account,  and  I  never  fur- 
nished any  beef  from  the  prison  ration. 

Q.     You  were  in  the  habit  of  going  on  fishing  junkets  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Did  you  do  that  at  the  expense  of  the  State  ? 

A.     Not  by  a  long  shot. 

Q.     Wouldn't  it  be  very  convenient  to  do  so? 

A.  Well,  yes.  The  only  thing  the  State  ever  had.  We  bor- 
rowed our  blankets  from  the  prison,  but  always  packed  them 
in  a  nice  box.  The  State  furnished  that.  We  would  go  out  in 
May  and  October,  twice  a  year,  and  we  would  borrow  the 
blankets. 

Q.  Didn't  you  usually  make  it  convenient  to  buy  your  pro- 
visions for  the  fishing  party  from  some  house  that  you  had 
patronized  for  prison  supplies? 

A.     Well,  yes.  sir,  I  would  go  and  buy  them  at  wholesale. 

Q.  Don't  you  reckon  you  made  a  mistake  sometimes  and 
charged  it  up  to  the  State  ? 

A.     Never  in  the  world,  sir. 

Q.     Are  you  clear? 

A.     I  am  as  clear  as  I  can  be. 


44 

• 

Q.     You  bought  a  great  many  hams  from  Eakin  &  Co.? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  I  bought  half  a  dozen  hams  on  one  occasion 
and  half  a  dozen  sides  of  breakfast  bacon. 

Q.     Did  you  have  that  charged  on  your  own  account? 

A.  I  did.  When  we  got  back  we  put  the  bills  together, 
and  Captain  Craig  paid  his  half  and  I  my  half. 

Q.     You  are  familiar  with  the  report  and  rumor  ? 

A.  Gentlemen,  I  have  been  around.  The  report  and  rumor 
was  that  there  never  was  any  honest  man  connected  with  this 
Institution. 

Q.     What  is  your  opinion  on  that? 

A.     My  opinion  is,  gentlemen,  that  we  are  lied  on. 

Q.  State  how  it  happens  that  the  bread  is  baked  in  this- 
prison  and  taken  to  the  Deputy  Warden's  and  Warden's. 

A.  Well,  it  has  been  the  custom  ever  since  I  have  been 
Steward,  and  that  is  twelve  years,  to  bake  bread  for  the  War- 
den and  Deputy  Warden  and  charge  them  up  with  the  flour. 

Q.     Who  charges  it  ? 

A.  I  will  tell  you  how.  They  will  furnish  the  flour,  for  in- 
stance, and  I  will  bake  the  bread ;  1  know  exactly  about  how 
many  pounds  of  bread  a  barrel  of  flour  makes;  I  would  charge 
them  with  the  flour  and  report  it  to  the  Clerk. 

Q.     Why  don't  that  show  up  on  the  books? 

A.     I  can  not  answer  that  question. 

Q.  Don't  you  know  as  a  fact  no  such  account  appears  on  the 
books  ? 

A.     I  don't  know  anything  about  what  appears  on  the  books. 

Q.     How  did  you  make  that  report — in  writing? 

A.  Verbally  ;  I  told  the  clerk  to  charge  Captain  Howard's  ac- 
count with  a  barrel  of  flour. 

Q.     How  often  did  you  do  that  ? 

A.     Well,  I  haven't  done  it  for  six  months,  I  presume. 

Q.  'How  many  barrels  of  flour  do  they  use  a  week  or 
month  ? 

A.  I  suppose  a  barrel  of  flour  would  reach  Captain  How- 
ard's private  family  two  or  three  months  ;  I  am  talking  about 
bread  for  his  private  family. 

Q.     How  much  flour  would  Mr.  Craig  use  ? 

A.     He  would  use  two  barrels  of  flour  every  month. 

Q.     How  much  is  a  barrel  of  nour  worth? 

A.     I  think  about  $4.25  ;  it  will  average  $4.50. 


45 

,  • 

Q.  That  would  be  two  and  a-third  barrels  a  mouth  at  $4  a 
barrel ;  what  is  the  average  ? 

A.  My  flour  would  average  during  the  year  about  $4.75, 
perhaps.  This  is  first-class  flour. 

Q.     Were  there  any  other  things  that  went  there? 

A.     Nothing. 

Q.     Any  potatoes? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Sugar? 

A.     No,  sir. 

•  Q.     Coftee  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     How  much  whisky  did  you  buy  a  month  or  year? 

A.  Well,  sir,  the  whisky  is  bought  for  the  hospital  on  re- 
quest of  the  physician.  I  don't  know.  He  would  give. me  a 
bill  of  drugs  and  supplies  for  every  month. 

Q.     Did  you  buy  a  barrel  for  every  month  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  buying  of  the 
whisky.  The  Warden  would  attend  to  that.  1  suppose  they 
use  two  gallons  of  whisky  a  month  in  the  hospital. 

Q.     Not  more  than  that? 

A.  Perhaps  three ;  owing  to  the  number  of  patients  they 
had. 

Q.     Did  you  buy  vegetables  for  this  institution  ? 

A.  We  did  not  buy  any — only  potatoes.  The  vegetables 
were  raised  in  the  garden. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  a  great  amount  of  potatoes  would  go 
from  here  to  Captain  Craig  or  the  Warden's? 

A.     No,  sir;  it  is  not.     I  am  sure  of  that. 

Q.  You  say  there  is  no  meat  ever  furnished  directly  from 
this  prison  to  the  Warden,  Deputy  Warden,  or  taken  out  by 
yourself? 

A.     Yes,  sir ;  I  say  that.     I  am  positive. 

Q.  Why  has  there  been  no  report  of  bread  for  the  last  six 
months  ? 

A.  When  Captain  Craig  was  here — I  think  the  last  two  or 
three  months  he  was  here — he  baked  most  of  his  bread,  or  a 
great  portion,  at  his  house.  He  had  reduced  the  quantity,  and 
when  he  left  here  I  think  they  were  using  two  or  three  barrels 
of  flour  that  he  had  bought  and  sent  here  that  just  about 
squared  his  account. 


46 

Q.  Why  was  it  necessary  for  Mr.  Craig  to  buy  two  or  three 
barrels  of  flour  of  you  ? 

A.  From  the  very  fact  that  I  had  a  class  of  flour  that  1117 
bakers  could  handle  and  make  better  bread  out  of  than  anj 
flour  in  the  market  of  the  same  grade. 

Q.  You  remember  when  the  Senate  Investigating  Commit- 
tee was  here? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  Can  you  tell  this  committee  how  many  barrels  of  beans 
you  had  on  hand  the  day  they  came  down  ?  Don't  you  re- 
member that  you  had  fourteen  barrels. 

A.     I  do  not;  I  bought  beans,  I  think,  sometime  this  month. 

Q.     How  many  barrels  ? 

A.     I  hyave  the  invoice  bill  in  the  office. 

Q.  •  Were  there  twenty  barrels  V 

A.     No,  sir  ;  I  don't  think  so. 

Q.  State  from  your  best  recollection  if  there  was  not  four- 
teen barrels  of  beans  on  hand  when  they  came  '< 

A.  I  can  not  say.  T  suppose  there  was  twelve  to  fourteea 
barrels. 

Q.     How  many  of  these  barrels  are  on  hand  now  ? 

A.     I  don't  know.     I  have  not  counted  them  up. 

Q.     How  many  barrels  do  you  use  a  day? 

A.     The  day  we  use  beans  twice,  we  use  about  3i  bushels- 
over  a  barrel. 

Q.     The  Committee  was  here  on  last  Friday '( 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  State  if  it  is  not  a  fact  that  you  hauled  out  and  took 
away  nearly  all  of  those  beans,  say  ten  barrels. 

A.     I  have  not  hauled  a  barrel  out  nor  taken  a  bean  away. 

Q.     Why  are  they  not  in  that  store-house  ? 

A.  They  are  there,  or  they  have  been  consumed  every  one  of 
them. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak  :  Do  you  remember  what  you  paid  a  bar- 
rel for  the  beans  'i 

A.     I  paid  $1.25  a  bushel. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  What  do  you  know  about  the 
garden  ;  was  it  kept  by  the  convicts  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     What  becomes  of  the  produce? 

A.  They  go  inside  and  to  the  Warden  and  Deputy  War- 
den's houses. 


47 

Q.  What  did  the  convicts  get  from  it  during  the  summer 
season  ? 

A.     Tomatoes,  onions,  lettuce,  radishes  and  cabbage. 

Q.     How  often  a  day  ? 

A.     During  abundance  of  it,  three  times  a  day. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  Referring  to  the  financial  transaction 
which  took  place  here  the  other  day,  will  you  tell  this  Commit- 
tee what  part  you  took  in  raising  about  $6,000  or  $7,000  to 
meet  the  deficiency  of  the  Warden  and  present  before  the  Sen- 
ate Committee? 

A.  Well,  I  will  tell  you,  gentlemen.  The  facts  in  the  case 
is,  Captain  Howard  came  to  me,  told  me  he  wanted  the  money 
raised,  said  he  had  arrangements  made  that  failed  him  and  he  must 
have  it.  I  told  him  "  it  was  d —  pretty  time  to  come  to  me  to 
raise  that  amount  of  money.  Where  am  I  going  to  get  it.  I 
have  got  none  of  my  own."  He  says,  "  1  must  have  it."  I 
started  out  into  the  street,  and  I  drew  up  a  note  and  began  to 
get  names  on  it,  and  I  was  surprised  at  myself,  surprised  at  the 
whole  transaction.  1  succeeded  in  half  an  hour,  went  to  the 
bank  and  put  it  to  his  credit.  He  said,  "  I  only  want  it  for  a 
day  or  two,  as  soon  as  1  can  make  some  arrangements.''  1  went 
and  placed  it  to  his  credit.  I  borrowed  it  on  my  own  motion. 
I  did  not  ask  him  what  he  wanted  it  for;  didn't  take  his  note. 
I  knew  Jack  Howard  was  honest  and  big-hearted,  and,  if  he 
was  in  trouble,  I  would  help  him  out. 

Q.  You  undertook  it  with  the  understanding  that  it  was  to 
be  "a  short  loan  ?. 

A.     It  was  to  be  paid  the  next  day  or  two. 

Q.  1  will  ask  you  if  you  did  not  check  out  $6,000  on  Satur- 
day '< 

A.  No,  sir;  I  checked  $7,162.27.  He  drew  the  check  in 
there  when  the  Senate  Committee  was  in  there,  called  me  to 
go  up  town  and  get  this  check  cashed.  I  went  up  town, 
brought  it  down  and  he  put  it  in  the  safe. 

Q.     When  was  this  money  paid  back? 

A.  It  was  paid  back  on  Monday  morning.  I  took  $2,000 
and  Mr.  Baxter  took  the  other  $5,000. 

Q.  Give  us  the  facts  about  raising  $3,000  to  meet  deficiency 
when  the  Legislative  Committee  was  here  two  years  ago. 

A.  He  came  to  me,  I  think  it  was  put  oft'  to  the  last  mo- 
ment. He  said:  "By  gosh,  I  must  have  $3,000."  "Well," 


48 

says  I,  "  have  you  tried  to  get  it  anywheres  ?"  He  says,  "I 
have  tried,  and  my  efforts  have  failed;  can  you  raise  it?"  I 
went  out,  and  says  I,  "  Craig,  Jack  wants  us  to  raise  $3,000. 
If  you  will  sign  this  note,  I  will  get  the  money."  He  signed 
it.  I  went  to  the  Loan  Association,  borrowed  it  out  on  ten 
days'  time.  At  the  end  of  ten  days,  Captain  Jack  comes  and 
says:  "  How  long  have  you  borrowed  that  money  for?"  Says 
I,  "  Ten  days."  Says  he,  "  I  can't  pay  it  in  that  time.  I  have 
got  it  in  my  accounts;  can't  you  make  that  loan  longer?"  I 
saw  Craig.  Says  he,  "  II — 1,  we  are  stuck  on  that  money  ;  see 
if  you  can  get  that  loan."  I  went  to  the  secretajy  of  the  Loan 
Association.  Says  I,  "  Will  you  allow  me  to  extend  that  loan  ?" 
He  says,  "  Yes,  certainly."  At  the  expiration  of  that  loan  I 
went  to  him  and  said,  "  Captain,  you  have  got  to  make  some 
arrangements  to  meet  that  Loan  Association  business,  due  in  a 
few  days."  He  says :  "  Can't  you  arrange  it  by  .getting  into 
the  new  association?  I  have  got  $500  in  the  othe'r  association; 
I  will  draw  that  out  and  pay  it,  and  you  can  take  some  shares." 
I  went  up  and  took  the  shares,  and  Craig  and  I  indorsed  and  gave 
him  the  note  and  took  twenty-five  shares.  We  had  to  get  three 
or  four  indorsers  according  to  the  by-laws.  I  goes  to  work 
and  gets  four  months  on  it.  -  He  has  been  paying  that  from 
time  to  time  until,  I  think,  he  has  paid  between  $900  or  $1,000 — 
I  think  about  $1,500. 

Q.  How  much  stock  does  Howard  own  in  the  Jeftersonville 
Times? 

A.     I  think  he  owns  it  all. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Osborn:  All  the  slop  goes  to  feed  the  Warden's, 
hogs  and  cows — does  he  sell  any  of  them? 

A.  The  hogs — he  would  have  made  a  spec  but  the  cholera 
struck  him  and  knocked  thunder  out  of  him.  The  Warden 
can,  by  close  attention,  make  money  by  feeding  it  to  the  hogs. 

Q.     Does  he  sell  the  refuse  from  that  mill? 

A.     No,  sir,  it  is  consumed  right  here. 

Q.     It  amounts  to  some  two  barrels  a  day  ? 

A.  Oh,  no ;  that  Senate  Committee  made  quite  a  point  on 
me ;  they  wanted  to  know  what  was  the  difference  in  cost  in 
making  and  buying  hominy.  I  told  them  I  could  buy  hominy 
for  $2.70  a  barrel  and  it  cost  about  $2.40  to  make  it.  I  says,  it 
takes  six  barrels  of  corn  to  make  a  barrel  of  hominy,  but  you 
take  six  barrels  and  you  make  two  hundred  pounds  of  hominy. 


49 

Q.  By  Mr.  Hobson :  How  much  hominy  do  you  make  on 
an  average,  per  day  ? 

A.     I  have  to  use  a  barrel  a  day. 

Q.     Two  barrels  of  offal  a  day  ? 

A.     Nearly  so;  yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  do  you  do  with  the  old  flour  barrels  ?  Is  it  true 
that  they  are  sold  for  17 J  cents  each  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  have  sold  them  at  twenty  cents. 

Q.     How  many  do  you  have  per  month  ? 

A.     We  have  about  fifty,  I  suppose. 

Q.     You  sold  the  bones  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     About  how  many  pounds  of  that  per  month? 

A.  Well,  the  bones  per  month  would  be  about  400  or  500 
pounds. 

Q.     You  got  how  much  per  100  for  them  ? 

A.  Sixty  cents.  That  has  always  been  considered  the  Stew- 
ard's perquisites — the  bones  and  empty  barrels. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  You  was  here  when  Mr.  Howard 
was  elected  Warden  the  last  time? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  any  money  being  offered  the 
Directors  to  vote  for  him  for  Warden  ? 

A.     That  kind  of  a  transaction  they  didn't  count  me  in. 

Q.     Was  there  not  any  talk  about  it  at  the  time? 

A.  No;  I  have  heard  this  street  rumor  that  some  fellow  had 
been  bought.  There  were  three  or  four  disappointed  candi- 
dates. 

Q.  You  never  heard  Captain  Howard  say  anything  about 
that  ? 

A.     No,  sir ;  not  a  word. 

I  want  to  explain  in  reference  to  hauling  beans.  The  Senate 
Committee  asked  me  that  question  when  they  came.  I  told 
them  I  never  done  a  transaction  of  that  kind.  But  two  years 
ago,  in  1884,  when  the  water  was  getting  up  here,  I  had  20  or 
30  barrels  of  beans.  The  Relief  Committee  came  up  and  said : 
"I  have  an  order  for  ten  barrels  of  beans.  There  ain't  a  bean 
in  Louisville.''  Says  I:  "I  can  furnish  them  to  you."  I 
loaned  them  to  him,  and  when  he  came  back  he  gave  me  bean 
for  bean  for  them. 

4 — PRISON. 


50 

W.  P.  Barnhill,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows  : 

Q.     You  are  the  Chaplain  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Have  you  had  any  Sunday-school  lately? 

A.     Not  since  I  came  in. 

Q.     When  was  that? 

A.  I  was  elected  in  September.  It  had  been  abandoned  or 
discontinued. 

Q.     What  was  the  reason  of  its  discontinuation  ? 

A.     Dissatisfaction  and  friction  in  the  running  of  the  school. 

Q.     Have  you  attempted  to  reorganize  it  ? 

A.  I  have  a  school  organized  I  teach  on  Sunday  morning, 
which  I  expect  will  develop  into  a  Sunday-school  in  a  few 
weeks. 

Q.     When  was  that  organized  ? 

A.     In  November. 

Q.  Have  you  any  regular  school  where  you  teach  the  com- 
mon branches  'I 

A.  This  is  the  school.  I  teach  arithmetic,  geography,  read- 
ing and  writing.  I  have  taken  illiterate  men  who  could  not 
take  part  in  a  general  Sunday-school,  who  needed  first  to  learn 
this. 

Q.  What  facilities  have  you  for  intercourse  with  the  prison- 
ers in  the  cells  ? 

A.  I  have  access  at  any  time.  I  put  in  Sunday  evenings 
and  during  the  week  frequently. 

Dr.  Norvell,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows  : 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten :  Were  any  pecuniary  inducements 
made  to  you  for  the  purpose  of  influencing  yonr  vote  as 
Director  in  the  election  of  a  Warden  ''. 

A.  Well,  I  have  been  approached  in  different  ways.  I  sup- 
pose you  have  reference  more  particularly  to  Captain  Howard, 
who  was  elected  Warden.  I  can  plainly  answer  you  just  in 
this  way.  I  am  very  glad  you  have  asked  me  this  question. 
Newspaper  rumors  have  been  afloat  that  I  received  money  from 
Captain  Howard,  and  I  saw  a  hint  of  that  kind  in  the  Cincin- 
nati Enquirer.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that  I  never  received  one 
cent  from  Captain  Howard  in  my  life  for  having  voted  tor  him 
for  Warden  of  this  prison.  1  did  not  intend  to  vote  for  Cap- 
tain Howard  at  first.  Peter  McCarthy  had  asked  me  to  vote  for 
him  some  considerable  time  before.  I  had  promised  to  do  so, 


51 

and  fully  intended  doing  it.  I  found,  however,  after  coming 
down  here  at  that  meeting,  that  Dr.  Hunter  had  a  candidate  in 
the  person  of  a  Mr.  Tubbs.  Major  Finney,  who  was  Republi- 
can member  on  the  Board,  had  a  candidate  by  the  name  of 
Neft.  Neither  of  the  gentlemen  suited  me ;  neither  Major 
Fenney  nor  Dr.  Hunter  would  vote  for  McCarthy.  Captain 
Howard  always  treated  me  very  kindly,  and  wanted  me  to  vote 
for  him,  and  I  said  to  Peter  McCarthy  and  others  I  was  going 
to  cast  my  first  vote  for  Captain  Howard.  I  could  not  get  my 
man  and  I  did  not  like  the  others.  I  came  in  and  cast  my  first 
vote  for  Captain  Howard,  and  Major  Finney  having  done  the 
same  thing,  that  elected  him. 

Q.  Doctor,  state  if  you  received  any  proposition  from  any 
other  source  V 

A.  I  did.  One  thing  right  there;  I  would  like  to  state  this, 
the  gentlemen  who  approached  me  with  propositions  are  my 
friends. 

• 

Q.  Did  anybody  us  a  friend  of  Captain  Howard,  *r  his 
agent,  make  any  proposition  to  you  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

(j,.     Was  Captain  Craig  at  that  time  a  candidate ''. 

A.     He  was. 

Q.     Did  he  make  any  proposition  to  you '( 

A.     I  don't  think  he  did. 

Q.  State  if  there  was  any  proposition  coming  from  him  iu 
any  direction  ? 

A.  I  could  not  say  positively  that  there  was  not  anything 
of  the  kind  coming  from  him.  I  don't  have  any  recollection 
of  Captain  Craig  making  any  proposition.  He  talked  to  me 
about  being  a  candidate. 

Q.     We  are  talking  .atfout  a  money  proposition. 

A.  I  do  not  know.  I  have  no  recollection  of  Captain  Craig 
offering  that  kind  of  a  proposition  to  me. 

Q.     Do  you  know  of  any  of  his  friends  making  it  for  him  ? 

A.  I  would  rather  not  answer  that  question.  I  shall  have 
to'say  frankly  that  men  whom  I  regarded  as  his  friends  were 
very  anxious  for  his  election. 

Q.     Did  they  ofter  any  money  consideration  ? 

A.  Well,  I  was  told  I  could  get  money  for  doing  so.  I 
don't  know  that  I  was  ever  offered  it.  I  did  not  entertain  any 
proposition  of  the  kind,  I  am  sure. 


52 

Q.     Was  there  any  sum  named? 

A.  Well,  now,  Captain,  I  don't  know,  certainly,  what  'to 
say  about  that. 

Q.     You  can  state  to  the  Committee  how  it  was. 

A.  It  thas  been  a  good  while  ago.  You  see  there  were 
quite  a  number  of  applicants,  and  there  were  quite  a  number 
of  gentlemen  here  in  the  interest  of  Mr.  Tubbs,  and  they  were 
ready  to  make  almost  any  kind  of  proposition  ;  some  of  them 
had  government  offices  to  bestow;  others  had  a  great  deal  of 
wealth,  but  would  not  name  amounts  they  would  pay.  You 
see,  men  are  very  particular  about  giving  the  amount. 

Q.  Did  anybody  offer  you  money  to  vote  for  Captain  Craig 
for  Warden  ? 

A.  Well,  now,  I  can't  exactly  answer  that  question.  I  can 
assure  you  that  no  gentleman  connected  with  this  institution 
is  being  referred  to  in  this  conversation  at  all.  The  conversa- 
tion I  had  was  with  Capt.  Craig's  friends.  You  see,  gentlemen, 
you  can  not  really  appreciate  the  political  situation  in  this 
locality.  There  is  quite  a  number  of  factions,  particularly  so 
in  the  Democratic  party,  and  they  fight  each  other  a  great  deal, 
and  there  seems  to  be  a  great  deal  of  bad  blood  existing. 
There  is  a  very  bitter  feeling  existing  between  them,  more  so 
than  between  opposite  parties. 

Q.  State  if  anybody  in  Jeft'ersonville,  as  Craig's  friend,, 
offered  you  any  amount  of  money  to  vote  for  Captain  Craig. 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     I  will  ask  you  who  that  man  was? 

A.  I  don't  want  to  get  that  man  in  any  trouble.  You  see,. 
Captain  Howard  was  re-elected,  and  Captain  Howard  did  not 
give  me  one  cent. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak :  You  are  familiar  with  the  duties  of 
Directors  in  visiting  the  prison.  I  would  like  to  ask  you  if 
that  has  been  your  practice  here? 

A.  No,  sir;  not  in  that  particular  way.  Captain  Horn, 
living  near  the  city,  has  been  here  quite  often.  There  was  a 
practice  in  vogue  when  I  came  here  for  the  Board  to  meet  every 
month.  We  have  all  met  every  month,  or  at  least  a  sufficient 
number  of  us.  I  have  missed,  perhaps,  three  or  four  or  five 
meetings  during  the  whole  term.  I  have  been  Director  pretty 
nearly  four  years. 

Q.     State  if  you  inspected  the  accounts  of  the  prison. 


53 

A.     We  inspected  the  accounts  every  month. 

Q.     State  the  manner  of  proceeding. 

A.  In  the  first  place,  when  we  came  down  here,  we  would 
sometimes  take  the  books  up  first,  and  sometimes  visit  the 
prison  first.  Sometimes  we  separated.  Ordinarily  we  got  to- 
gether and  passed  through  all  the  shops  to  hear  and  see  the 
prisoners  in  the  penitentiary,  and  each  prisoner  understands 
that  he  has  the  right  to  speak  to  us.  If  he  has  any  complaints 
of  any  character,  or  wishes  to  come  before  the  Board,  he  gives 
us  his  name,  and  after  we  have  gone  through  the  prison  we  fix 
some  time  during  the  time  we  are  here  to  hear  complaints  of 
the  prisoners.  Captain  Horn  is  Secretary.  I  am  acting  as 
President.  We  keep  notes  of  what  prisoners  have  to  say. 
Each  prisoner  is  brought  in  separately,  and  there  is  ordinarily 
nobody  in  here  except  the  prisoner  and  the  Board  of  Directors.. 
Then  he  has  the  privilege  of  making  any  complaints  of  any 
character  in  the  world  that  he  wishes  to.  Then  we  investigate 
it  in  a  manner  to  suit  the  complaint.  When  a  man  is  sick  we 
refer  him  to  the  physican,  and  frequently  in  investigating  mat- 
ters of  punishment  we  bring  in  guards,  but  I  will  say  to  you 
candidly  that  I  believe  that  seventy-five  per  cent,  of  the  com- 
plaints usually  made  do  not  amount  to  anything  at  all,  and,  in 
reality,  we  know  there  is  a  certain  class  of  fellows  coming 
nearly  all  the  time.  When  any  matters  require  our  assistance 
we  always  try  to  make  the  best  of  it  that  we  can.  Some  cases- 
we  refer  to  the  Warden,  others  to  the  physician.  If  the  com- 
plaint was  that  there  was  not  enough  heat  in  the  cell  we  would 
speak  to  the  cell  guard  about  it.  Sometimes  they  complained 
of  the  food.  Ordinarily  the  man  complained  that  he  could  not 
perform  his  task.  Pretty  often  it  is  the  prisoner's  fault,  trying- 
to  play  off*.  When  we  wanted  to  know  what  the  task  was  we 
saw  the  guard  and  asked  what  kind  of  a  man  that  is,  and  if  he- 
can  perform  that  labor  he  is  required  to  do  it.  If  he  is  dis- 
abled or  claims  inability  for  it,  we  refer  him  to  the  physician.. 

We  have  three  books,  one  Directors'  record,  and  other  larger 
books  in  which  the  accounts  are  kept  and  bills  filed.  Then  an- 
other made  by  the  clerk — two  duplicates  on  each  page.  Cap- 
tain Horn  will  take  one  book  and  the  clerk  another.  Captain 
Horn  will  come  to  this  bill,  and  if  there  is  anything  wrong 
about  it  we  try  to  correct  it.  We  see  if  the  bills  correspond 
with  the  book  Dr.  Wilson  has,  and  corresponds  with  the 


54 

voucher  I  am  to  sign,  when  we  get  through.  That  is  all  there 
is  about  it. 

Q.  What  can  you  know  about  the  supplies  having  been  fur- 
nished ? 

A.  We  can't  know  very  much ;  we  would  go  into  the 
kitchen  sometimes  and  see  what  was  there.  Visiting  the  prison, 
a  man  can  not  come  and  stay  here  but  a  short  time. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  What  has  been  done  in  regard  to 
investigating  the  accounts  of  the  Warden,  when  you  met  every 
month  ? 

A.  Our  investigation  is  simply  to  see  that  the  accounts  cor- 
respond— that  they  agreed  with  the  minutes  of  the  meetings 
preceding — and  to  go  through  the  prison. 

Q.  Would  you  ever  go  back  and  make  any  overhauling  of 
his  books  in  any  way? 

A.     I  never  did  go  back  very  far  into  the  books. 

Q.  Did  you  try  to  1ind  out  anything  about  his  money  ac- 
count '! 

A.     I  know  nothing  about  his  money  accounts. 

Q.     Did  you  examine  into  the  convict  fund  ? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  can  not  say  that  I  have  ;  I  had  no  business 
with  it;  my  understanding  was  that  it  was  all  right. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  ask  him  about  the  amount  of  money  he  had 
on  hand  belonging  to  the  Institution — have  him  show  up  his 
money  ? 

A.  No,  I  never  had  him  show  up  his  money — anything  of 
that  kind.  The  truth  is  that  it  is  natural  to  fall  into  the  plans 
of  men  that  come  before  me,  and  I  suppose  I  felt  that  way. 
We  thought  it  was  really  better  for  Captain  Horn  to  visit  the 
prison  ;  it  was  very  convenient,  and  on  an  average  I  guess  he 
visited  the  prison  often er  than  the  law  required:  I  thought 
that  would  be  sufficient. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak  :  As  a  rule  your  visits  were  rather  hasty 
— a  mere  cursory  view  of  the  accounts. 

A.  We  did  up  the  business  as  rapidly  as  we  could  conven- 
iently :  we  were  here  a  few  days  each  time  ;  we  always  stayed 
a  day  to  look  at  the  accounts,  and  supposed  we  were  correct 
before  we  passed  them.  All  we  had — here  was  the  bill,  here 
was  the  duplicate,  and  here  was  the  amount  on  the  book.  We 
did  not  see  the  meat,  we  did  not  see  the  tobacco,  but  supposed, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  these  things  had  been  consumed. 


55 


Dr.  Norvell  recalled. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  A  rumor  has  been  before  this  Com- 
mittee that  at  the  time  of  the  re-election  of  the  Warden  here, 
Senator  Rahm,  I  believe  was  the  man,  in  the  interest  of  some- 
body is  said  to  have  telegraphed  you  this  telegram :  "I  will  give 
you  $4,000  for  your  corn/'  What  have  you  to  say  in  regard  to  it? 

A.  Well,  gentlemen,  I  can  answer  that  question  very 
frankly.  I  never  had  a  telegram  from  Senator  Rahm  in  my 
life  on  any  subject. 

Q.     Did  you  from  anybody  ? 

A.^  I  have  never  had  a  telegram  from  any  individual  living 
on  the  subject  of  the  election  of  Warden,  that  I  now  remem- 
ber, and  so  far  as  the  telegram  in  regard  to  corn  is  concerned, 
I  have  never  heard  of  it  before,  except  in  conversation  with  a 
gentleman  day  before  yesterday,  who  said  there  was  a  rumor 
of  that  kind. 

Mr.  R.  J.  Wilson,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten:     State  your  relation  to  the  prison. 

A.     I  am  one  of  the  Directors. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  been  a  Director? 

A.     Something  over  year;  I  do  not  remember  the  exact  date. 

Q.  State  if  you  have  ever  been  approached  by  any  body 
since  you  have  been  an  officer  of  this  prison,  in  a  corrupt  man- 
ner, for  the  purpose  of  influencing  your  vote. 

A.  No,  sir  ;  I  have  never  helped  elect.  The  Warden  was  in 
when  I  came  on  the  Board.  I  helped  elect  the  Chaplain,  Physi- 
cian and  Deputy  Warden.  Mr.  Horn  was  on  the  Board  when 
I  came  ;  I  succeeded  Dr.  Hunter,  I  think,  in  August. 

Q.     You  was  elected  to  fill  his  unexpired  term? 

A.  Yes,  by  Governor  Gray.  These  are  the  only  elections 
there  have  been  since  I  was  here,  and  none  of  those  gentlemen 
offered  me  anything. 

Q.  Have  you  any  knowledge  of  the  Warden  offering  any- 
thing at  the  last  election  to  secure  his  re-election? 

A.     No,  sir ;  I  don't  know  anything  about  that. 

Q.  State  if  you  had  any  conversation  with  Captain  Howard 
or  any  body  that  is  connected  with  the  prison  in  reference  to 
any  use  of  money  or  influence  to  secure  his  re-election  ? 

A.     No,  sir ;  I  don't  know  anything  about  that  at  all. 

<<2-     State,  if  in  your  connection  with  the  Clerk  here,  as  an 


56 

officer,  whether  or  not  you  know  he  has  his  own  system  of 
book-keeping — whether  or  not  he  has  been  interfered  with  in 
any  manner  in  keeping  his  accounts. 

A.     Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  State  if  he  met  with  your  Board,  and  assisted  you  in 
passing  on  the  bills  before  you. 

A.  He  always  was  accommodating  and  gave  all  the  light  and 
information  we  asked  for. 

Q.  State  if  the  manner  of  book-keeping  in  this  institution  is 
like  that  of  any  other  ordinary  business. 

A.     I  am  not  much  of  a  book-keeper. 

Q.     What  was  your  method  of  business  at  these  meetings? 

A.  We  went  through  the  prison  and  heard  complaints,  and 
the  next  thing  we  had  men  come  here  and  report  to  us;  send 
for  the  guards  and  investigate  the  causes  of  complaint.  After 
we  got  through  with  that  we  went  through  the  bills,  and  they 
always  compared  with  the  books,  and  everything  looked  right 
to  me. 

Q.  Did  you  go  any  further  with  the  investigation  of  their 
books  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  One  took  the  bills  and  the  other  the  book,  and 
the  other  the  vouchers,  and  compared  them,  and  we  looked  at 
the  prices.  Captain  Horn  is  in  the  provision  business,  and  one 
or  two  times  we  thought  the  prices  were  high. 

Q.  After  you  did  that,  you  did  not  pursue  the  matter  any 
further? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Pleak  :   ,  What  is  your  business  ? 

A.  At  the  present  time  I  am  a  newspaper  man ;  my  busi- 
ness is  practicing  medicine. 

Q.     What  is  the  name  of  your  newspaper  ? 

A.     Salem  Democrat. 

Mr.  John  Horn,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows: 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander :     Where  do  you  reside  ? 

A.     I  reside  in  New  Albany. 

Q.     What  connection  have  you  with  this  prison  ? 

A.     I  am  one  of  the  Directors  of  the  prison. 

Q.     How  long  since  you  were  appointed? 

A.     It  will  be  two  years  the  first  of  next  March. 

Q.  Have  you  Directors  had  meetings  here  investigating  this 
institution,  and  how  often  ? 


57 

A.  We  generally  met  most  of  the  time  every  month,  but 
not  always. 

Q.     About  how  long  between  times  you  did  not  meet  at  all  ? 

A.  I  come  up  almost  every  week  or  every  two  weeks.  I 
drop  in  and  look  around. 

Q.  About  how  often  do  you  investigate  the  accounts  of  the 
institution  ? 

A.  Every  time  we  have  a  meeting.  You  can  see  in  our 
minute-book  the  date.  We  always  went  over  the  accounts 
every  time. 

Q.^,  When  you  were  here,  did  you  pursue  a  thorough  inves- 
tigation ? 

A.  As  far  as  the  invoices  is  concerned,  we  always  went 
through  them  carefully. 

Q.  The  bills  were  presented  to  you  by  the  Clerk  with  his 
accounts? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  I  will  ask,  when  the  Directors  met  here — when  these 
bills  were  audited — if  these  bills  were  audited  as  paid  when 
the  Directors  knew  they  were  not  paid? 

A.  Well,  most  all  bills,  when  they  came  before  us,  and  we 
found  them  marked  paid,  we  audited  them  paid.  I  don't  think 
they  were  paid  when  they  were  before  us.  I  don't  know  that 
they  were  ever  marked  paid  when  they  came  before  us. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  knowledge  that  some  of  these  bills 
that  were  audited  as  paid  were  not  paid  ? 

A.     Not  as  I  know  of. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  any  conversation  with  the  Clerk  about 
the  way  the  institution  was  managed  in  which  you  said  you 
were  disgusted  at  the  way  things  were  done? 

A.  I  had  several  talks  with  the  Clerk.  I  got  very  dissatis- 
fied at  the  way  they  were  paying  officers  here  and  guards,  and 
such  as  the  meat  bill,  I  found,  had  not  been  paid.  I  had  talk 
with  the  Clerk  about  it,  and  I  told  him  that  the  business  did 
not  suit  me  quite,  and  it  was  rather  loose  and  so  on,  and  we 
went  and  seen  the  Warden  about  it  and  told  him  he  ought  to 
see  to  it,  and  he  always  promised  he  would. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  examine  the  accounts  and  find  out  how 
many  outstanding  bills  were  not  paid  and  the  amounts? 

A.  After  we  looked  the  bills  through,  and  they  were  signed 
by  one  of  the  other  Directors,  I  don't  think  we  looked  into  it. 


58 

Q.  After  finding  out  that  these  guards  had  not  been  paid, 
did  you  ever  inquire  the  reason  they  were  not  paid  ? 

A.  No,  we  did  not.  The  only  answer  we  got  would  be, 
4'  That  will  be  all  right.  I  will  attend  to  it." 

Q.  For  what  reason  was  it  you  did  not  examine  the  amount 
of  money  he  had  of  every  kind  belonging  to  the  institution? 

A.  I  don't  know  whether  I  could  give  you  any  other  reason 
except  we  had  too  much  confidence  in  him. 

<,».      You  just  went  on  his  promises? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

(}.     Did  you  ever  ask  about  his  ability  to  pay  up ': 

A.  We  had  talks  about  his  paying  up,  and  getting  things 
in  better  shape.  He  would  say:  "Yes,  that  will  be  all  right." 

<^.  State  if  complaints  were  made  to  you  by  outside  parties 
who  had  accounts  that  were  not  paid. 

A.  N^ever  ;  no,  sir :  with  the  exception  of  the  meat  and  the 
guards. 

Q.  State  if  when  you  three  Directors  were  here,  did  you 
ever  talk  over  with  the  Warden  about  his  bills  outstanding  and 
not  paid,  and  he  promised  all  three  that  he  would  make  it  all 
right.  • 

A.      Yes;  when  we  were  all  here. 

Q.  Was  there  ever  any  proposition  made  by  the  other 
Directors  about  examining  into  his  ability  to  pay,  and  seeing 
how  much  money  he  had  on  hand  ? 

A.     No,  sir:  nothing  of  that  kind. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  if,  at  any  one  of  your  meetings,  you  re- 
quired of  him  to  furnish  you  an  account  of  the  moneys  he  had 
on  hand,  or  the  money  lie  had  on  hand,  and  of  the  outstanding 
bills  against  the  Institution  ''. 

A.     We  did  not. 

<t».  .You  knew  there  were  quite  a  number  of  funds  ;  the  con- 
vict funds,  visitors'  funds,  money  received  from  the  State  and 
on  account  of  contractors.  Did  you  at  any  one  of  your  meet- 
ings require  him  to  furnish  a  detailed  statement  of  the  amount 
he  had  received  from  every  source ;  also,  the  amount  of  bills 
he  had  paid  and  what  were  not  paid  ? 

A.     Not  to  my  knowledge. 

tk>.  By  Mr.  Pleak  :  .What  did  you  consider  your  duty  as 
Board  of  Directors  here? 

A.     Oh,  I  think,  so  far  as  I  know,  that  we  examine  into  al- 


lowances  of  bills  and  invoices,  and  see  whether  they  are  correct 
with  the  books  of  the  clerk,  to  examine  the  prison,  go  through 
and  see  whether  the  food  was  right,  whether  prison  was  car- 
ried on  right,  and  where  complaints  were  made  by  convicts  we 
investigated  them. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  Did  you  ever  inquire  for  an  ex- 
planation about  how  contracts  were  made  by  the  Warden  with 
outside  parties  for  furnishing  supplies  to  the  Institution,  and 
whether  or  not  he  ever  received  any  rebate  by  reason  of  those 
supplies  being  furnished  ? 

A.  We  never  inquired.  All  we  did  we  looked  at  the  bills 
to  see  whether  they  were  correct  with  the  market  prices, 
whether  they  were  all  low  enough,  but  whether  he  received  a 
rebate,  I  could  not  tell.  We  never  asked  him  about  rebate. 

Q.  State  if  anything  of  that  kind  was  ever  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  What  was  said  to  the  Warden  when  he  vr-as  re-elected. 
by  the  Directors  about  his  furnishing  new  bond  ? 

A.  That  was  before  my  time.  I  was  not  Director  then, 
when  he  was  re-elected.  During  the  first  meeting  I  inquired 
about  the  bond.  They  said  it  was  the  old  bond,  and  the  old 
bond  was  good  and  lawful.  The  old  Directors  at  that  time 
thought  the  bond  sufficient.  That  was  all  they  said  about  it. 

Q.  Did  you  take  the  advice  of  anybody  as  to  whether  a 
bond  of  that  kind  would  be  valid  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Just  took  his  statement  for  it,  and  the  other  Directors, 
that  they  thought  it  to  be  good  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.     You  don't  kriow  whether  they  inquired  at  that  time '.' 

A.     I  could  not  tell. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  any  corrupt  influences  that  were 
used  to  elect  Warden  of  this  prison  ? 

A.     Well,  I  don't  know  of  a  thing. 

Q.     Were  there  any  rumors  of  that  kind  '! 

A.  Outside  there  may  be,  but  I  could  not  take  that  for 
granted.  There  never  was  anything  said  to  me  or  hinted  of 
the  kind. 

Q.     Was  the  Warden  elected  when  you  came  in  ? 


60 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  was  going  to  say:  we  elected  while  I  am 
here,  a  Deputy  Warden,  the  Physician  and  the  Chaplain. 

Q.  Was  there  any  money  consideration  offered  to  the  Di- 
rectors for  the  purpose  of  voting  for  any  of  these  officers  ? 

A.  No,  sir,  not  a  cent.  Even  if  they  offered  it,  it  wouldn't 
took. 

Q.  At  the  times  you  had  your  meetings  here,  if  any  com- 
plaints were  made  by  convicts  you  heard  their  statements? 

A.  Of  course.  There  is  no  meeting  of  the  year  where  we 
have  not  had  those  complaints. 

Q.  You  took  their  statement  and  then  you  took  the  state- 
ment of  persons  connected  with  the  institution? 

A.  When  they  made  complaints  of  bad  treatment  by  the 
guards,  the  testimony  of  the  guards  was  always  good  treat- 
ment, and  the  other  side  always  bad.  If  any  convicts  had  been 
worked  too  hard  we  always  referred  them  to  the  physician 
and  inquired  into  their  health. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  bring  any  of  the  contractors  before  you  to 
find  out  about  these  complaints  ? 

A.  We  went  around  and  asked  them,  sometimes,  what  they 
thought  about  it.  For  instance,  they  would  say:  "There  is  a 
man  right  alongside  of  him,  not  as  stout  as  he  is,  but  he  does 
the  same  work." 

Q.  State  if  you  Directors  ever  said  to  Captain  Howard  that 
you  did  not  think  he  was  conducting  the  Prison  on  the  right 
plan — that  the  management  was  too  loose. 

A.  Not  except  what  I  said  about  the  accounts.  Sometimes 
we  told  him  this  had  to  be  fixed.  We  always  got  the  answer 
that  he  would  see  to  it. 

Q.  State  if  you  ever  examined  into  his  rules  and  regulations 
to  see  whether  they  were  reasonable  or  not. 

A.  We  did.  There  is  much  complaint  about  the  food,  and 
so  on.  When  I  slipped  up  here  sometimes  I  never  found  it  dif- 
ferent. I  thought  it  good  enough  for  an  institution  of  this 
kind.  I  never  found  any  bad  meat  since  I  came  here.  Of 
course  convicts,  they  complain; you  can't  please  them,  whatever 
you  do. 

Q.     Who  makes  out  your  reports  to  the  Governor? 

A.  We  make  out  the  Directors'  report;  the  other  is  made 
out  by  the  Warden  and  the  clerk. 

Q.     State  if  you  ever  made  any  report  to  him  about  the  man- 


61 

ner  in  which  the  prison  was  carried  on,  as  to  the  money  condi- 
tion of  the  prison  and  about  bills  that  were  not  paid. 

A.     No,  it  is  not  in  our  report. 

Q.  Did  you  make  any  suggestions  as  to  improvements  that 
were  necessary? 

A.     I  believe  the  report  says. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  State  if  that  wooden  wall  was  cut  down 
4ind  a  brick  one  put  up  there  would  there  be  a  saving  in  guards? 

A.  I  believe  it  would  be  a  saving  of  guards  if  we  had  a 
good  wall  back  there  ;  it  ought  to  be  fixed;  it  is  bad  the  way 

•  j_    • 

it  18." 

Q.  Is  there  not  some  land  here  not  inclosed  belonging  to  the 
State? 

A.     There  is  some  outside. 

Q.     Do  they  rent  that  garden? 

A.  No,  the  garden  is  State  property,  I  think ;  it  is  about 
seven  acres,  I  think. 

Q.     In  what  business  are  you? 

A.     Groceries,  at  New  Albany. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak  :  Do  you  ever  furnish  any  supplies  to  this 
Institution  ? 

A.  No,  sir  ;  I  have  never  furnished  anything  to  it,  because 
»  Director  should  not. 

Mr.  C.  H.  Walden,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows: 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten :  What  is  your  connection  with  the 
Southern  Prison? 

A.     I  am  a  Superintendent.     I  have  a  shoe  contract. 

Q.  Can  you  furnish  the  Committee  with  the  amount  you 
have  paid  to  the  Warden  since  the  31st  of  October  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  We  have  thirty  days  to  pay  our  bill,  and  then 
ten  days  more.  For  instance,  January  bill  we  should  not  pay 
until  10th  of  March.  Some  of  these  bills  are  anticipated  a  little. 
I  let  them  have  $500  of  November  money  in  October.  The 
payments  were  made  as  follows  : 

October  27,  $500  on  November  account. 

November  8,  $1,367.93  on  September  account. 

December  6,  $1,944.78  on  October  account. 

December  3,  $1,995.75  on  November  account. 

January  17,  $2,089.63  on  December  account. 

February  10,  $2,085.72  on  January  account. 


62 

They  get  leather  from  us  and  shoes,  and  it  there  are  dis- 
crepancies between  book  and  full  amount  of  bill,  that  can  be  so 
explained. 

Q.     How  is  it  that  you  pay  them  in  advance  ? 

A.  They  said  they  were  hard  up  and  wanted  some  money, 
and  if  we  could  possibly  let  them  have  it  ahead  of  time,  we  let 
them  have  it. 

Q.     Do  you  remember  when  the  Senate  Committee  was  here':1 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Have  you  any  knowledge  of  where  Mr.  Howard  raised 
the  $7,000  he  showed  to  the  Committee  ? 

A.     He  didn't  raise  any  of  it  from  me. 

Q.     Have  you  any  knowledge  of  it  ? 

A.     I  have  no  knowledge  of  myself;  no,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  Bid  you  have  any  talk  with  him 
about  it? 

A.  I  don't  think  you  have  any  right  to  ask  me  that  ques- 
tion. I  should  prefer  not  to  answer  it. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  Did  you  furnish  privately  any  of  this 
money  ? 

A.     I  did  not. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  Do  you  know  anything  about 
Perin  &  Gaff,  or  either  one  of  them,  paying  to  the  Warden,  or 
any  one,  for  him,  $1,000,  during  this  month? 

A.     No ;  I  have  heard  it  intimated  on  the  street. 

Adjournment  for  dinner. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  I  will  ask  whether  you  know  any- 
thing about  where  this  money  came  from  that  the  Warden  of 
the  Prison  exhibited  to  the  Senate  Committee  when  they  were 
here  the  other  day — $7,000 — whether  or  not  you  heard  Captain 
Howard  say  anything  as  to  that ;  if  so,  what  the  conversation 


was? 


A.  I  don't  think  I  heard  him  say  anything  about  it,  no 
more  than  that  he  got  the  money. 

Q.     Did  he  say  where  he  got  it  ? 

A.     I  don't  think  he  did. 

Q.  Did  he  say  anything  about  its  being  his  own  money  or 
belonging  to  some  one  else  ? 

A.     He  said  the  money  was  there  in  the  safe,  if  I  remember. 

Q.     State  as  nearly  as  you  can  the  conversation  you  had. 

A.     I  think  he  told  me  that  he  should  pull  through  :  that  he 


63 

-• 

had  got  the  money;  had  it  in  the  safe  there,  and  enough  ;  the 
difference  his  books  called  for,  I  think  it  was  $7,000  ;  I  am  not 
sure. 

(I.  State  if  you  had  any  conversation  immediately  before 
Senate  Committee  came  down — as  to  money  part  of  it. 

A.  Well  that  is  what  I  refused  to  answer  this  morning.  I 
will  say  that  he  asked  me  to  raise  him  some  money.  I  think 
my  share  was  S'2,000. 

Q.     Was  the  money  actually  due  him  from  you? 

A.  No,  sir ;  nothing  due.  It  would  have  been  due  10th  of 
ApriT 

Q.  Has  he  asked  you  for  any  money  since  this  committee 
came  down? 

A.     Not  a  dollar. 

Q.  Or  immediately  before  the  committee  came  down,  and 
when  he  knew  it  was  coming? 

A.  I  don't  believe  I  have.  I  don't  think  I  have  been  asked 
to  raise  any  money  since  the  day  before  the  Senate  Committee 
came  down,  but  I  may  have  been.  I  do  not  recollect. 

Q.  Have  you  had  any  conversation  with  him  to-day  about 
the  committee — about  these  affairs  in  the  prison. 

A.  At  noon,  I  think,  he  asked  me  about  the  trouble  be- 
tween me  and  the  committee.  He  said  he  understood  I  was  in 
contempt,  and  spoke  about  Perin  &  Gaff  paying  him  any 
money  last  Saturday.  I  think  he  wanted  to  know  where  I 
had  ever  heard  it.  I  believe  I  told  him  that  I  heard  it  inti- 
mated. He  wanted  to  know  who  told  me,  would  I  tell  him? 
I  told  him  no ;  that  I  could  not  afford  to  tell  anybody  ;  that  I 

tad  heard  it.     He  said,  u  You  think  they  are  on  to  that,  sure  ?" 
said,  "Sure."     He  asked  me,  would  I  tell  it?     I  told  him  I 
as  going  to  ask  counsel  before  I  answered  that  question.     He 
wanted  to  know  if  I  should  answer  if  I  had  to  answer  at  all. 
I  told  him  I  should  tell  the  truth  if  I  had  to  answer  at  all.     As 
say,  I  have  taken  counsel,  and  my  counsel  tell  me  I  must 
answer  that  question,  so  this  talk  really  amounts  to  nothing 
now.     I  am  ready  to  answer  the  question. 

Q.     The  question  was  whether  you  knew  of  $1,000  having 
been  paid  to  him  on  last  Saturday  by  Perin  &  Gaff. 
A.     I  have  heard  that  there  was. 
Q.     Who  told  you? 
A.     Satnuel  H.  Perin  told  me. 


64 

Q.  I  will  ask  if  Mr.  Perin  said  he  had  furnished  him  any 
other  money  ? 

A.  He  is  coming  before  the  committee.  He  can  tell  you 
that. 

Q.     No;  he  is  in  Cincinnati. 

A.     I  don't  think  he  furnished  the  money. 

Q.  State,  if  you  know,  who  did  furnish  this  money — the 
$7,000? 

A.  I  have  heard  it  rumored ;  I  do  not  know  it  as  a  fact ;  it 
was  understood  that  Sparks,  Lewman  and  Allen,  the  Steward, 
furnished  the  money. 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  conversation  with  the  Clerk,  Deputy 
Warden  or  Steward  of  the  Prison  in  reference  to  the  matter? 

A.  I  have  heard  them  say,  I  think  all  of  these  men  except 
the  Clerk,  that  they  had  raised  the  money. 

Q.  What  was  the  reason  they  had  to  raise  that  money,  if 
they  stated  ? 

A.  They  were  short ;  they  had  to  raise  it  to  make  the  books 
balance. 

Q.     State  if  you  are  acquainted  with  the  Directors? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  State  when  you  made  your  contract  and  the  names  of 
the  Directors  with  whom  it  was  made? 

A.     I  never  made  any  contract. 

Q.     When  was  your  contract  entered  into  ? 

A.     In  1884. 

Q.     Who  were  the  Directors  then  ? 

A.     Dr.  Norvell,  I  think,  was  one. 

Q.     Who  made  that  contract  ? 

A.     Bryan  &  Brown  Shoe  Company. 

Q.     State  how  you  came  to  own  that  contract? 

A.  The  Jeffersonville  Boot  and  Shoe  Company  bought  it 
from  Bryan  &  Brown  Shoe  Company. 

Q.  State  if  you  had  any  dealings  with  the  Directors  or  the 
Warden  at  the  ]time  you  made  the  purchase  ? 

A.     No,  sir ;  none  whatever. 

Q.  State  if  you  have  any  knowledge  of  any  contractors 
being  charged  .  any  sum  for  their  contract — any  conditions 
under  which  they  accept  it. 

A.  I  believe  it  is  customary  to  pay  something  for  a  contract. 
I  think  it  is  understood  that  they  are  to  pay  something. 


65    . 

Q.     Who  is  the  autlior  of  that  custom  ? 

A.     The  parties  transacting  the  business. 

Q.     With  whom  are  these  contracts  made  ? 

A.     With  the  Directors. 

Q.  Have  you  any  knowledge  of  any  individual  transaction 
of  that  kind  ?  If  so,  state  when  it  was  and  what  company  it 
was  with? 

A.     It   is  hearsay.     The   Bryant    <fc  Brown   Shoe  Company 
paid  $4,500,  I  am  told,  to  the  Directors  for  the  contract. 
.     Q.     Any  other? 

A.     I  don't  know  of  any  one  else. 

Q.     What  is  your  source  of  information  in  reference  to  this  ? 

A.     The  secretary  of  the  company  told  me. 

Q.     State  what  other  contracts  have  been  made  there  lately. 

A.  The  Patten  Company  is  the  only  company  since  I  have 
been  here.  The  parties  are  Columbus  people. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  Directors  going  to  Cin- 
cinnati, after  Perin  &  Gaflf  went  out — whether  you  have  any 
knowledge  of  their  advertising  for  bids  ? 

A.  Only  in  an  indirect  way.  I  couldn't  even  tell  you  who 
told  me. 

Q.  I  will  ask  you  if  task  men  in  the  Prison  have  been 
granted  the  right  or  privilege  to  labor  for  themselves? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     By  what  companies  ? 

A.     We  have,  for  one  ;  Perin  &  Gafi'  have,  also. 

Q.     What  arrangement  have  you  with  your  men  ? 

A.  If  a  man  has  done  a  task,  we  allow  him  at  the  rate  of  60 
cents  a  day. 

Q.     What  becomes  of  that  money  ? 

A.  We  put  it  into  the  office.  We  give  a  separate  check  for 
that. 

Q.     State  about  the  amount  of  the  monthly  earnings  outside 

your  regular  quota. 

A.     Well,  it  is  something  like  this :    We   have  regular  men 

at  we  pay  any  way  that  do  not  work  on  any  task.  Some  men 
get  $5  a  month,  some  $3,  some  $2,  some  $1.50. 

Q.  Have  you  any  knowledge  of  the  purchasing  of  supplies 
by  the  Warden  ? 

A.  Only  in  a  general  way;  that  they  buy  them  piecemeal, 
a  little  at  a  time,  mostly  here  in  town. 

5 — PRISON. 


66 

Q.  State  if  any  of  these  supplies  are  used  by  the  Warden 
or  his  deputies  ? 

A.  Well,  we  all  see  them  carrying  out  stuff  every  day  ;  that 
is,  bread  and  potatoes.  The  Deputy  Warden  usually  boards 
the  guards.  Since  the  change  was  made  in  Deputy  Warden; 
the  Warden  has  furnished  the  guards  their  meals. 

Q.  State  if  that  is  a  frequent  occurrence — the  taking  out 
of  bread  and  provisions  ? 

A.     Daily. 

Q.     How  long  has  it  continued  ? 

A.     Since  I  have  been  here.     A  year  and  a  half. 

<c>.  State  if  you  know  of  the  Warden  paying  the  Directors 
under  any  circumstances  for  an}'  privileges  or  favors  ?  State 
the  source  of  your  information  ? 

A.  I  could  not  give  you  the  source  of  my  information. 
Everybody  understands  that  the  Warden  has  to  buy  his  office. 
It  is  understood  that  they  were  ottered  $8,000  the  last  election 
for  another  man  besides  Captain  HoAvard.  That  is  common 
report. 

<t>.  State  if  yon  know  of  Captain  Howard  having  to  con- 
cede anything  to  retain  his  position. 

A.     I  do  not. 

Q.     State  if  you  know  or  have  ever  heard  that  he  did? 

A.  I  have  heard  so  ;  common  report  has  it  that  he  had  to 
pay  one  of  the  Directors  $4,000  or  $4,500. 

Q.      Whose  name  was  connected  with  that  report? 

A.     Dr.  Norvell. 

<,).      Where  did  you  first  hear  that  report? 

A.     I  have  heard  it  ever  since  I  have  been  here. 

Q.  State  if  there  was  anything  paid  that  you  know  of  or 
heard  ? 

A.  The  election  hung  fire  a  long  time.  The  report  was,  all 
was  going  on  very  lively,  and  that  the  Warden,  or  one  of  his 
friends,  telegraphed  to  Norvell  that  he  would  give  him  $4,000, 
or  such  a  matter,  for  his  corn,  and  the  bid  was  accepted. 

Q.  State  if  you  have  heard  Mr.  Jack  Howard  say  anything 
about  it — about  having  to  pay  or  being  solicited  to  pay  ? 

A.     I  don't  think  I  have  heard  him  say. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  heard  his  book-keeper,  or  Deputy 
Warden  or  Steward,  Mr.  Allen,  say  any  thing  about  it  ? 

A.     I  may  have  heard  Mr.  Allen  say  something  to  that  effect. 


67 

Q.  What  is  the  number  of  visitors  to  the  prison  during  ther 
year  ? 

A.  In  the  fall  of  the  year  we  have  a  great  many  ;  some  days 
as  many  as  200,  during  the  exposition  at  Louisville,  for  instance. 

Q.     During  the  year  what  is  the  approximate  number? 

A.  A  good  many  come  in  that  don't  pay.  There  are  a  great 
many.  Couple  of  dollars  a  day  would  be  a  fair  average.  I 
think  I  have  counted  in  there  228. 

Q.  State  if,  in  your  opinion,  $148  would  be  a  sufficient  gate 
fee  a  year? 

A.     I  should  not  suppose  it  would. 
Mr.xWalden  recalled. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  Do  you  want  to  make  a  statement  ta 
the  Committee  ? 

A.  I  want  to  say  that  I  had  at  one  time  four  men  with  sore 
fingers.  A  great  majority  of  our  men  have  syphilis,  and  have 
sore  lingers  for  six  or  eight  weeks  at  a  time.  They  charge  me 
half  price  for  these  men  whose  work  is  not  worth  five  cents  a 
day.  That  is  the  kind  of  conniving  I  have  with  the  officers  to 
beat  the  State. 

Q.  You -say  a  great  many  of  them  are  afflicted  with 
syphilis  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  what  remedy — what  sanitary  treatment 
they  have  ? 

A.  I  could  not  tell  you.  They  have  the  chance  to  see  the 
doctor  twice  a  day  if  they  like. 

Q.     Are  these  men  suffering  right  along? 

A.  Well,  if  you  will  come  into  my  shop  you  can  see  for 
yourselves.  I  have  one  darkey  whose  face  bunches.  We  have 
others  that  are  ready  to  fall  to  pieces,  but  they  prefer  to  work. 
WQ  have  these  men,  and  prisoners  rebel  against  working  with 
them,  or  drinking  out  of  the  same  cups.  I  wish  to  say  that 
there  is  no  collusion  between  the  employes  or  the  guards,  or 
officials  and  the  contractors,  to  exact  bonus  or  money  for  the 
contractors.  I  have  never  been  approached  on  the  subject  by 
anyone. 

Mr.  Richard  M.  Dennis  being  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows: 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander:  Where  do  you  reside? 

A.     In  Louisville. 

Q.     What  relation  have  you  with  the  Southern  Prison  ? 


68 

A.     I  am  a  contractor  in  the  saddle-tree  department. 

Q.     When  did  your  contract  commence? 

A.  First  day  of  January,  1887.  I  was  sub-contractor,  how- 
ever. I  bought  out  John  R.  Gathright  in  July,  1885. 

Q.  During  the  month  of  January  or  February  of  this  year, 
did  you  pay  to  the  Warden  any  money,  and  state  the  amounts? 

A.  I  could  tell  you  exactly  the  amount  if  you  were  at  my 
office.  I  paid  him  some  money  in  January.  I  don't  think  I 
have  paid  him  any  money  this  month.  I  paid  him  $332.96  in 
January.  I  am  not  sure  whether  last  of  January  or  first  of 
February. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  any  person  when  obtaining  a 
contract  at  Prison  having  to  pay  a  bonus? 

A.  I  don't  know  a  thing  of  that  sort.  To  the  best  of  my 
knowledge  and  belief  there  has  been  nothing  of  the  kind. 

Q.  Within  the  last  week  or  two,  have  you  been  called  upon 
by  the  Warden  to  advance  anything  when  it  was  not  really 
due? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  have  never  been  called  upon  to  advance  any 
money. 

Q.     Is  there  any  money  due  from  you  to  the  Warden  ? 

A.     I  owe  him  for  the  present  month. 

Q.     When  do  you  pay  that? 

A.  Well,  the  custom  has  been  to  pay  it  on  the  10th  of  the 
month  following,  /.  ?.,  for  February  we  pay  on  the  10th  of 
March. 

Q.     How  many  men  do  you  work  ? 

A.  I  have  thirty.  My  contract  reads  thirty  convicts  with 
the  privilege  of  fifty.  Huns  for  five  years  from,  January  1, 
1887. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  Do  you  keep  a  book  showing  the  over- 
time of  convicts?  • 

A.     Yes,  sir.     I  can  show  you  that  book  to-morrow. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  prison  cash  book  with 
the  convicts? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  State  how  you  make  return  for  that  over-time,  whether 
it  is  kept  in  your  account  with  the  Warden  or  whether  it  is 
kept  differently. 

A.  It  is  paid  always  separately ;  I  make  payment  once  a 
month  for  my  different  convicts  who  have  done  overwork,  and 


69 

'write  a  check  for  the  amount  payable  to  A.  J.  Howard  as  War- 
den. These  accounts  are  all  made  out  distinctly  and  sepa- 
rately, each  one  having  his  proper  credit,  provided  it  is  entered 
by  the  book-keeper.  I  draw  one  check  for  the  full  amount  for 
that  month. 

Q.  What  would  be  the  probable  amount  of  that  at  the  end 
•of  a  month — take  an  average  month? 

A.  It  won't  amount  to  a  great  deal ;  perhaps  $20,  perhaps 
:f  35  or  $40. 

Q.  Do  you  know  whether  that  is  ever  credited  to  the  ac- 
•cou«t  of  the  convict? 

A.  I  do  not,  sir  ;  I  can  not  say  ;  but  there  is  every  reason 
why  it  should  be,  of  course  ;  I  make  it  out  as  plain  as  A  B  C 
can  be ;  I  keep  an  account,  and  know  what  I  have  paid  each 
one  of  them. 

Q.  Supposing  the  good  time  ot  any  of  your  men  was  taken 
from  them,  how  would  that  affect  your  labor  ? 

A.  I  just  have  so  many  days' labor ;  they  furnish  me  so 
many  every  day ;  if.  there  are  any  sick  they  charge  me  up  with 
the  men  less  the  sick  ones. 

Q.  If  they  take  a  man  and  punish  him  you  don't  pay  for 
ihim  ? 

A.  No,  sir ;  I  don't  pay  for  any  work  or  any  time  except 
'what  I  get. 

Q.     How  many  men  do  the  contractors  work  ? 

A.  Perin  &  Gaff  had  300  or  more,  the  Shoe  Company  has 
185,  I  have  30. 

(I.     What  will  the  labor  average  ? 

A.  About  forty-five  cents  a  day.  The  Shoe  Company,  I 
think,  pay  sixty  cents  for  some  of  their  men. 

Q.  I  want  to  ask  you  if  there  might  be  any  reform  as  to 
contractors  in  reference  to  handling  your  men  ? 

A.  There  are  a  great  many  things  that  ought  to  be  done. 
Very  hard  to  tell,  the  way  the  prison  is  built.  If  it  had  been 
more  compactly  built,  and  steam  power  furnished,  then  all 
contracts  would  have  been  more  desirable.  Every  contractor 
now  has  to  put  in  his  plant.  If  it  is  only  for  a  short  time,  he 
don't  care  much  about  taking  it. 

Q.  Have  you  any  difficulty  in  getting  along  with  the  officers 
of  the  prison? 

A.     I   have   had   none.     Have   been   treated  very  cleverly. 


70 

The  only  trouble  has  been  when  I  first  came  there.  I  was- 
amazed  at  the  manner  in  which  the  business  was  done — put- 
ting matters  oft'  from  day  to  day.  There  has  been  a  good  deal 
of  that.  This:  "I  will  see  you  to-morrow  or  next  day." 

Q.  What  is  the  course  of  conduct  of  the  guards  toward  the 
contractors  there  generally? 

A.  Generally  speaking,  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  find  out,  the 
guards  try  to  do  their  duty  between  the  contractor  and  the 
State. 

Q.     You   don't  task  a  man  according  to  his  ability  or  skill? 

A.  No  ;  I  have  fixed  tasks  all  alike.  You  fix  a  task;  some 
men  can  do  it;  others  will  make  fifty  cents  a  day  for  them- 
selves. I  get  about  twenty  per  cent,  less  out  of  convicts  than 
I  would  in  a  free  shop. 

Frank  P.  Shields  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Q.  By  Mr.  llobson:  What  connection  have  you  with  the 
Southern  Prison  ? 

A.     I  am  cell-house  guard. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  been  there  as  guard  in  the  cell-house  ? 

A.     I  think  since  about  the  1st  of  October,  1885. 

Q.     All  this  time  where  have  you  been  taking  your  meals? 

A.  With  the  Deputy  Warden  up  to  1st  of  October,  1886:. 
since  that  time  with  the  Warden. 

Q.  How  many  of  the  guards  are  taking  their  meals  with 
the  Warden,  or  Deputy  Warden  '.' 

A.     I  expect  from  12  to  14. 

Q.     How  much  do  you  pay  him  for  your  board  '.' 

A.  ]S"ow,  $4  a  week.  We  used  to  pay  Captain  Craig  $20  a 
month. 

(,).     How  many  guards  have  you  when  you  have  full  set? 

A.     I  think  now  there  is  about  30  or  31  guards. 

*,>.     Do  you  oversee  these  fellows  in  solitary  confinement '.' 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  About  how  long  do  you  keep  men  there  in  solitary  con- 
finement '{ 

A.     I  never  had  but  few  men  in  solitary  confinement. 

C,|.     What  offense  do  you  put  them  there  for  ? 

A.  We  have  three  men  in  solitary  confinement  now  that  we- 
locked  up  because  they  were  men  that  had  fights,  two  of  them. 
We  don't  let  them  go  to  the  dining-room  for  fear  of  disturbing 


71 

the  other  men,  and  when  the  other  men  are  eating  they  rob 
the  cells. 

Q.     How  long  do  you  keep  them  there  ? 

A.  I  have  got  only  Brownford,  who  has  been  there  a  week 
or  ten  days;  the  two  others  have  been  a  little  longer. 

<,).     Do  you  ever  punish  them  that  way  for  slight  offenses? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  If  a  man  should  speak  to  another  one  and  the  guard 
should  see  him,  can  they  order  him  put  in  this  place  for  that 
offense '.' 

A.x  I  don't  know.  I  never  had  a  case  of  that  kind.  If  you 
catch  a  man  talking  in  line  and  you  reprimand  him,  and  he 
persists,  we  give  him  what  is  called  the  letter  A.  The  letter  A 
takes  20  per  cent,  of  good  time  off  for  that  month. 

Q.  If  you  were  satisfied  there  are  men  there  who  have  ill 
will  of  guards  and  are  tied  up  for  slight  offenses,  would  you 

nsider  that  pretty  severe  punishment? 
That  would  be  owing  to  the  man. 

Q.  How  long  is  the  longest  one  kept  in  that  kind  of  posi- 
tion, hung  up  in  this  way.  [Indicating.] 

A.  About  seven  hours.  When  I  have  men  in  punishment 
I  lock  them  up,  tie  them  up  between  7  and  8  o'clock,  let  them 
•down  at  11,  tie  them. up  between  12  and  1,  and  let  them  down 
a  little  before  4. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  their  being  confined  in  this  particular 
•cell  in  cold  weather  with  the  windows  open  ? 

A.     ^\o,  sir. 

<w>.     Do  they  ever  complain   of   being  too  cold  up   in  that 


* 


ace? 


A.     No,  sir;  I  never  had  any  man  complain  to  me  about  it. 
<L>.     Does  he  stay  in  there  all  night  without  covering  and 
without  a  bed  ? 

§A.     It  has  occurred  a  few  times;  yes,  sir. 
Q.     About  how  often  ? 
A.     AVell,  not  very  often. 

Q.  Were  they  permitted  even  their  coats  and  caps  in  that 
place  ? 

A.  No,  sir;  I  never  had  coats  and  caps.  I  tell  you  what  I 
did  do.  We  had  some  men  I  took  up  there  once  or  twice, 
and  I  changed  clothes  on  them,  gave  them  a  suit  of  clothes 
just  like  they  had.  I  searched  the  man.  He  had  concealed  a 


72 

knife  and  undertook  to  knife  me,  and  I  changed  clothes  on 
him. 

Q.  How  often  do  you  see  the  Chaplain  among  you  and  your 
men? 

A.  Well,  sir,  every  day  or  two.  Chaplain  Cain  was  very  at- 
tentive, and  this  new  Chaplain  comes  in  every  day  or  two  and 
talks  to  my  men.  He  was  not  there  while  his  wife  was  sick. 
With  that  exception,  I  don't  think  he  has  missed  over  two 
days  before  coming. 

Q.  If  you  were  told  he  did  not  average  going  in  there  more 
than  once  a  month,  would  you  think  the  party  was  mistaken? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  would.  This  new  Chaplain  is  so  particular 
about  not  infringing  on  a  guard  that  he  has  called  my  atten- 
tion particularly  to  it. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak  :  How  many  men  do  you  suppose  he  talks- 
to? 

A.  I  never  paid  any  attention  ;  sometimes  he  will  ask  me  to 
see  one  man,  sometimes  three  or  four. 

Q.     Do  you  attend  his  services  ever  of  a  Sunday  ? 

A.     No,  sir  ;  I  am  busy. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Hobsou  :  This  man  up  there  in  solitary  confine- 
ment as  high  as  31  days,  does  the  Chaplain  come  to  see  him  oc- 
casionally? 

A.  I  don't  know  ;  he  goes  up  in  that  range.  I  do  not  know 
who  he  talks  to. 

Q.  This  man  on  whom  you  took  special  pity  and  saw  he 
got  a  doctor,  when  you  found  he  had  been  there  for  eight 
months  ? 

A.     Well,  I  don't  know  how  long  he  had  been  there. 

Q.  You  saw  he  needed  a  doctor.  You  don't  know  whether 
the  Chaplain  ever  seen  that  man  ? 

A.     ISTo,  I  don't. 

Q.  You  know  that  these  fellows  in  solitary  confinement 
sometimes  have  bread  and  water  only? 

A.  In  punishment,  if  I  have  a  man  up  there  for  a  day  or 
two,  I  give  him  bread  and  water.  A  man  in  solitary  confine- 
ment gets  full  rations  just  as  if  he  went  to  the  table. 

Q.     How  often  do  vou  furnish  water  ? 

«/ 

A.     They  have  water  furnished  them  twice  a  day.     Man  in 
solitary  confinement  gets  water  three  times  a  day. 
Q.     What  about  this  man  Davis  ? 


73 

A.  I  have  had  him  sixteen  months.  He  is  one  of  those 
cranks,  takes  crazy  spells,  and  you  can  do  nothing  with  him, 
and  if  you  lock  him  up  for  a  day  or  two  he  will  go  out  and  be 
a  good  fellow  to  work ;  we  never  pretend  to  punish  him. 

Q.  This  man  Kennedy  has  been  in  your  charge — how  long 
has  he  been  in  confinement  in  that  cell  ? 

A.     Well,  I  think  he  has  been  there  a  month  or  a  little  over. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  he  has  been  there  since  the  1st  of  Jan- 
uary ? 

A.     It  might  possibly  be  since  the  1st  of  January. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  persons  staying  up  there  until  they 
froze  their  feet  or  hands  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     You  don't  think  it  could  occur  there? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know ;  if  a  man  stayed  up  there  in  real 
cold  weather,  through  carelessness  of  guards  in  making  fires, 
they  might,  but  I  never  knew  a  case  of  that  kind. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Sinclair :    Do  you  consider  Kennedy  a  bad  man? 

A.  Since  he  has  been  in  my  charge  I  have  not  had  a  bit 
of  trouble  with  him. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Hobson  :  They  all  consider  it  punishment  to  be 
confined  in  their  cells,  don't  they  ? 

A.     I  have  some  men  that  want  to  go  to  the  cells. 

Q.     Well,  nine  out  of  ten  would  consider  it  a  punishment? 

A.     I  don't  know. 

Q.  You  usually  lock  them  up  for  some  offense,  either  slight 
or  great  ? 

A.  No,  sir,  we  do  not.  For  slight  offenses  we  take  oft'  few 
days'  good  time. 

Q.  You  confine  him,  you  feed  him  bread  and  water,  you 
take  and  deprive  him  of  the  right  to  correspond  with  his 
friends,  take  away  his  tobacco  and  good  time  for  one  offense, 
sometimes  ? 

I  A.     Yes,  sometimes. 
Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     You  have  charge  of  the  cell-house  ? 
A.     I  have.     I  have  certain  ranges  I  lock  in.     I  have  three 
ranges  now. 

Q.     Do  you  have  morning  call  and  make  detail. 
A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  keep  a  morning  report  of  those  who  are  sent  to 
the  hospital  and  those  who  go  to  the  shop. 


74 

A.  No,  sir.  The  way  we  do  that,  I  make  my  rounds  among 
my  men,  and  every  man  that  wants  to  go  to  the  hospital  falls- 
in  line,  and  we  march  him  up  to  the  hospital,  and  the  doctor 
examines  them  ;  that  is  after  breakfast. 

Q.  I  want  to  know  if  there  is  any  account  kept  of  the  men. 
Who  reports  them  to  the  hospital  ?  Do  you  make  any  morn- 
ing report  to  the  Clerk? 

A.     We  make  daily  report. 

Q.     How  do  you  know  how  many  you  have  for  labor'.' 

A.     The  physician  excuses  men  who  are  not  tit  to  labor. 

Q.     How  do  you  make  your  detail  for  labor? 

A.  I  have  nothing  but  State  men  who  are  not  on  contract,. 
and  old  men  not  able  to  go  on.  The  other  men  go  from  the 
breakfast  table  to  the  shop.  I  don't  have  over  five  or  six  to  go- 
to the  hospital. 

Q.  How  does  the  Warden  or  Clerk  know  how  many  men 
are  at  work  ? 

A.  We  have  a  little  slip,  and  the  guard  makes  report  every 
evening;  of  how  many  men  he  has  at  work,  how  many  men  he 
has  on  the  roll,  how  many  excused,  how  many  men  are  firsty 
second  or  third  class.  That  is  handed  in  to  the  Clerk  in  the 
evening. 

Q.  Supposing  ten  more  men  than  his  complement  went  to- 
work  and  the  guard  overlooked  them,  and  the  foreman  of  the 
shop  would  pay  no  attention  and  let  them  work,  how  would 
that  knowledge  ever  be  presented  to  the  Clerk? 

A.     Well,  it  would  be  a  very  poor  guard  would  do  that. 

Q.  Suppose  he  would  collude  with  the  contractor  to  do 
that.  Could  it  be  detected  ? 

A.     I  don't  know  anything  about  book-keeping. 

Q.  Where  is  there  any  check?  How  are  the  Clerk  and 
Warden  protected  ? 

A.     They  can  tell  in  the  evening,  when  we  all  make  a  report, 

Q.  Suppose  the  guard  dishonest  and  the  contractor  dis- 
honest, and  they  would  take  more  men.  Is  it  not  possible  for 
them  to  work  an  additional  number  of  men  without  the  Clerk 
ever  knowing  anything  about  it? 

A.  The  only  way  that  I  should  answer  that  is  that  the 
Deputy  Warden  makes  his  rounds  through  the  shops.  He 
counts  the  men  and  sees  if  they  are  there.  If  the  guard  misses 
a  man  the  guard  must  report  it  during  the  day. 


75 

Q.     You  don't  make  a  report  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Hobson  :  If  there  were  thirty  men  due  a  cer- 
tain contractor,  they  could  turn  him  on  thirty-five  men. 

A.     Possibly  they  could  if  they  seen  fit. 

Q.     Have  you  ever  been  detailed  in  the  shops? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Why  is  it  that  man  is  locked  up  there  all  the  time  in- 
stead of  being  in  the  hospital,  where  he  could  be  doctored? 

A.  Yon  will  have  to  call  the  Doctor  for  that.  That  fellow, 
I  put  him  up  there.  He  has  the  pock  and  he  is  very  offensive. 
The  Doctor  goes  and  sees  him.  He  has  never  asked  to  go  to 
the  Hospital. 

Q.     How  long  has  he  been  in  that  condition. 

A.     He  coine  there  with  it.     My  recollection  is  that  he  come 

f  December,  1885.     His  name  is  Delaney  Lowrey. 
Q.     How  long  has  he  been  in  that  cell  without  being  relieved? 
A.     I  take  him  out  every  few  days,  awhile. 
Q.     What  is  his  condition  ? 
A.     I  have  never  seen  him  undressed. 
Q.     Who  attends  to  that  when  he  goes  out  to  bathe  ? 
A.     I  take  him  to  the  cell  house  and  give  him  cold  and  hot 
•water,  but  I  don't  stay  there  and  watch  him. 

({.     Is  it  not  your  duty  to  see  that  the  man  cleans  himself? 

I  A.     Yes,  sir. 
Q.     Are  there  any  running  sores  ? 
A.     There  is  many  running  sores  on  him. 

(»).     By  Mr.  Hobson  :    How  did  he  come  there  in  that  cell? 

A.  I  reported  him.  He  asked  me  if  I  would  not  let  him 
work  out  in  the  yard,  and  I  took  him  out,  and  he  got  to  run- 
ning around  and  wouldn't  stay  with  the  wagon,  and  would  go 
in  the  shops  and  talk  to  the  men,  and  I  reported  him  because 
he  would  not  mind  me. 

Patrick  McMahon,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows: 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  State  whether  you  were  connected  with 
this  Institution  ? 

A.  Yes,  about  four  years  ago,  I  was  night  watchman  for  the 
contractors,  and  a  little  while  for  the  State.  I  am  night  watch- 
man for  the  contractors  now. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  lived  in  Jeffersonville  ? 


76 

A.     Since  1869. 

Q.     Are  you  acquainted  with  a  butcher  over  in  Louisville,  by 
the  name  of  Duff? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  their  bringing  beef  from  across  the 
river  ? 

A.  I  understood  that  Mr.  Duft  was  supplying  them  at  the 
time.  I  seen  the  beef  wagons  come  over. 

Q.  By-Mr.  Alexander:  Did  you  notice  the  character  of  the 
beef? 

A.     It  appeared  to  be  in  quarters. 

William  T.  Royce,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten :     Are  you  connected  with  this  prison  ? 

A.     I  am  in  the  guard  hall. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  lived  in  Jeffersonville  ? 

A.  I  have  lived  here  since  coming  from  California,  fourteen 
years. 

Q.     Are  you  married  ? 

A.     I  have  a  family.     I  live  right  back  of  the  prison. 

Q.     Where  do  you  board  ? 

A.     I  board  at  home. 

Q.     What  is  your  duty  as  guard? 

A.     Attending  to  these  gates, letting  in  employes  and  visitors. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  been  a  guard  ? 

A.     About  fourteen  years. 

Q.  State  if  you  know  anything  about  beef  or  other  pro- 
visions being  furnished  by  the  prison  wagon  to  any  person  out- 
side of  the  Prison  proper  ? 

A.     No,  sir ;  I  do  not. 

Q.  State  if  it  is  not  a  fact  that  provisions  are  taken  out  of 
this  institution  to  the  residence  of  the  Warden,  the  Deputy 
Warden  and  Mr.  Allen,  the  Steward. 

A.  Well,  sir,  I  don't  know  whether  it  goes  from  the  Prison 
or  not.  I  see  bread  go  out  of  here.  They  get  their  baking 
done  here.  Sometimes  they  bring  hams  out  of  the  Prison  into 
the  Warden's  house ;  nothing  else  that  I  know  of. 

Q.     State  if  you  know  where  the  beef  supplies  come  from  ? 

A.     I  don't  know.     They  come  in  wagons  to  the  Prison. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  wagon  stops  in  front  of  these 
residences  ? 


77 

A.     I  don't  know  ;  I  am  in  the  guard-room. 

Q.     Is  there  not  a  garden  cultivated  here  for  this  Prison  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir  ;  the  State  cultivates  it  by  convict  labor. 

Q.  Are  not  the  vegetables  taken  from  that  garden  and  taken 
to  these  residences  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  they  take  vegetables  from  that  garden,  I  be- 
lieve. 

Q.     How  long  has  that  continued? 

A.     Since  I  have  been  in  the  Prison. 

Q.     What  do'you  do  when  visitors  come  here  ? 

A.  I  send  for  a  guard  to  take  the  parties  through  the 
Ppison. 

Q.     Is  there  any  charge  made  ? 

A.  I  send  them  to  the  Clerk  to  get  tickets.  The  charge  is 
twenty-five  cents  a  ticket.  The  tickets  are  taken  up  by  me 
and  put  in  a  box. 

Q.  State,  on  your  best  judgment,  how  many  people  visit  this 
institution  during  the  year? 

A.  I  never  kept  any  record  oi  it.  I  just  put  the  tickets  in 
the  box  and  never  think  much  more  about  it.  Captain  How- 
ard passes  a  good  many  people  free.  The  Clerk  receives  the 
money  and  takes  the  tickets  out  of  the  box. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  State  if  there  has  not  been  at  least 
500  to  1,000  visitors  in  one  day  during  the  Louisville  Exposi- 
tion ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  How  much  is  the  largest  number  that  ever  visited  in  one 
day? 

A.  I  don't  think  it  ever  ran  up  very  high.  A  great  number 
pass  free,  but  there  are  very  tew  tickets. 

Q.     What  do  you  mean  by  a  great  number?     Many? 

A.     I  could  not  come  to  make  any  estimate. 

Q.     Was  there  a  large  number  during  the  year  ? 

A.  I  suppose  it  would  amount  to  a  considerable  number 
during  the  year.  I  don't  hardly  think  it  would  run  up  to  a 
thousand  during  the  whole  year. 

Q.     Give  us  an  estimate. 

A.  I  have  seen  him  pass  through,  without  charge,  as  high 
as  250  a  day.  These  excursionists  come  down  the  river. 

J.  S.  McKay,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows: 
By  Mr.  Patten  : 


78 

Q.     You  are  a  guard  here  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  been  here  ? 

A.     Since  the  first  of  January,  1876. 

Q.     What  part  of  the  duty  do  you  perform? 

A.  When  I  first  came  here  I  was  five  months  in  the  shops; 
afterward  on  night  duty  four  years  and  two  months  in  the  old 
cell-house. 

Q.  Stale  whether  it  was  your  duty  to  report  the  number  of 
men  at  work. 

A.  Yes,  we  always  kept  a  time  book.  I  reported  that  to 
the  office,  of  so  many  men  at  work,  and  they  kept  it  on  the 
books  also. 

Q.  What  is  the  manner  of  treatment  of  the  prisoners  ? 
Has  that  been  uniformly  fair': 

A.  There  is  always  a  system  of  reporting  men  for  violations 
of  the  rules.  In  my  department,  I  have  tried  to  manage  the 
men  just  the  same  as  the  Warden  would  do — make  them  do 
right.  If  a  man  committed  a  little  offense  I  would  go  to  him 
and  talk  to  him,  tell  him  he  must  do  better  than  that. 

Q.  Is  the  tendency  of  the  officers  and  the  guards  to  im- 
prove the  condition  of  the  prisoners? 

A.     I  think,  in  most  instances. 

Q.  Has  there  been  any  cruelty  or  inhuman  treatment  of  the 
prisoners  to  your  knowledge  ? 

A.     Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.     Who  keeps  the  cells  clean? 

A.  That  comes  under  the  various  men.  The  man  that  has 
•charge  of  the  cell-house  now  is  Mr.  Shields. 

Q.  Is  there  any  bad  treatment  by  guards  of  convicts  for 
small  offenses ;  that  is,  is  the  punishment  too  severe  for  the 
•offenses  committed  '.' 

A.     These  things  do  not  come  under  my  observation. 

Q.  State  why  it  is  they  do  not  provide  better  bedding  for 
the  prisoners ;  why  they  don't  keep  clean  straw.  How  often  do 
they  change  that  ? 

A.  I  know  but  little  about  that  now,  but  when  I  was  in 
there  on  night  duty  that  devolved  on  me  and  my  partner,  and 
we  always  changed  bedding. 

Q.  Is  there  any  reason  why  this  bedding  is  so  filthy  and 
dirty,  and  is  it  unusually  so  ? 


79 

A.  The  bedding  is  generally  kept  in  pretty  good  order. 
They  have  been  changing  lately.  This  new  contract  coming 
in  and  the  old  one  going  out,  they  have  been  moving  the 
laundry  away  into  another  department.  They  have  not  had 
the  same  opportunity  to  be  washing  up  things  in  here. 

Q.     How  do  they  get  the  straw  ? 

A.     They  generally  get  loose  straw  from  the  country. 

Q.  Are  any  provisions  taken  out  of  the  prison  and  carried 
up  to  the  Warden,  Deputy  Warden  or  Steward's  residences. 

A.     There  may  be  some  bread  taken ;  it  is  baked  in  here. 

Q.  Is  not  that  a  daily  occurrence — the  taking  out  of  bread 
and  potatoes  ? 

A.     Not  potatoes,  but  with  bread  it  may  be. 
^Q.     Where  do  you  board  ? 

A.     I  board  with  the  Warden. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  all  of  the  provisions  taken  to  the- 
Deputy  Warden  and  Warden's  houses  are  taken  out  of  the 
prison. 

A.     That  I  can  not  say,  anything  further  than  the  bread. 

<J.  Don't  you  know  such  a  thing  does  occur — is  it  not  a  cur- 
rent rumor  ? 

A.  There  has  been  such  rumors  as  that,  and  I  sometimes- 
saw  supplies  taken  out ;  .but  I  didn't  examine  them,  didn't 
trouble  myself  about  that. 

Q.  How  many  guards  generally  board  at  the  Warden's  or 
Deputy  Warden's? 

A.  Sometimes  ten  or  twelve,  sometimes  fifteen  or  eighteen ; 
the  married  men  generally  board  themselves  at  home. 

Q.     Where  do  they  get  their  provisions  ? 

A.     They  don't  get  them  out  of  here. 

Q.     Do  they  keep  a  garden  here  raised  by  convicts? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Are  not  the  vegetables  taken  to  the  Warden  or  Deputy 
Warden,  whoever  boards  these  guards. 

A.     I  expect  they  get  all  they  want. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander  :  State  if  you  have  received  your  pay, 
and  how  far  behind  is  the  pay. 

A.  I  received  my  pay  up  to  the  1st  of  November;  none 
since;  our  pay  is  due  from  the  1st  of  November;  they  are  paid 
inhere;  I  don't  know  how;  just  as  the  contractors  pay  in  ; 
sometimes  at  one  time,  sometimes  another.  When  I  wanted 


80 

money  very  badly  I  would  go  to  the  Warden,  and  lie  would 
always  give  it  to  me. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  their  being  behind  with  the 
other  guards  ? 

A.     I  suppose  they  are  with  some  of  them ;  I  don't  know. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Pleak  :     What  do  you  pay  a  week  for  board? 

A.     Four  dollars. 

Q.     And  your  salary  is — 

A.  Fifty-five  dollars  a  month.  Our  board  was  $4  a  week 
since  the  1st  of  October ;  previous  to  that  time  it  was  $20  a 
month. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  How  many  guards  sleep  in  the 
prison  ? 

A.  Twelve  or  thirteen.  We  have  these  rooms  over  here. 
I  sleep  here. 

Mr.  James  Kennedy,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as 
follows : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten :     How  long  have  you  been  guard  ? 

A.     Close  on  to  twelve  years. 

Q.     In  what  department  ? 

A.  For  the  first  five  years  in  trip-hammer  shop,  then  trans- 
ferred to  shoe  shop,  where  I  am  now. 

Q.     Where  do  you  board  ? 

A.     I  board  at  home,  right  down  here. 

Q.  Do  you  know  at  what  time  the  provisions  are  brought 
to  this  institution. 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Did  you  see  the  beef  wagons  come  from  Louisville? 

A.  I  think  I  saw  some  mornings  when  we  were  coming 
to  the  shop  a  beef  wagon  come  in. 

Q.     Who  lives  opposite  the  prison  ? 

A.  Some  German,  I  don't  know  his  name.  Mr.  Knapp,  a 
guard,  lives  down  there. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Cruson :  How  many  of  the  guards  are  married 
men  ? 

A.     The  biggest  portion  of  them  are,  I  guess. 

Mr.  Isaac  Cooper,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 
By  Mr.  Patten— 

Q.     You  are  connected  with  the  prison  ? 


81 

A.  I  am  employed  here  as  night  guard ;  have  been  for  11 
years. 

Q.     Where  do  you  live  ? 

A.     In  Jeffersouville. 

Q.     In  what  direction  from  the  prison  ? 

A.     East. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  bread  being  taken  out  of  this  in- 
stitution to  the  Warden  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Is  it  a  daily  occurrence  ? 

A.  Well,  I  guess  it  is,  but  I  am  asleep  in  the  day  time.  I 
have  seen  it  taken  out  though. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  provisions  are  taken  out  daily  to 
these  officers — the  Warden,  Deputy  Warden  and  Steward  ? 

£..     I  tell  you,  sir,  I  have  seen  it. 

Q.     What  time  do  you  come  here  ? 

A.  I  sleep  up  stairs ;  I  come  down  stairs  sometimes  at  12  or 
2  o'clock. 

Q.  State,  if  you  know,  where  the  beef  is  obtained  on  the 
other  side  of  the  river  ? 

A.     I  do  not  know  to  my  knowledge. 

Q.     How  does  it  come  here  ? 

A.  It  comes  in  a  wagon,  I  suppose  ;  I  have  not  seen  a  pound 
of  beef  come  into  this  prison  for  a  year.  My  understanding 
was  this,  that  the  bread  was  accounted  for  in  this  way.  A 
barrel  of  flour  makes  so  many  loaves  of  bread,  and  the  bread 
is  accounted  for  by  keeping  account  of  the  loaves  that  is  car- 
ried out. 

Q.  Then  you  think  there  is  no  beef,  flour,  bread,  vegetables, 
anything  of  that  kind,  taken  to  these  places  without  being  ac- 
counted for  ? 

A.  Oh,  as  for  vegetables,  they  may  be  taken  from  the  gar- 
den in  summer.  I  don't  know  of  anything  in  the  shape  of 
flour  going  out  of  here. 

Q.     What  about  hams,  meat? 

A.     I  never  saw  anything  of  that  kind. 

Q.  You  come  by  the  Warden's  house  when  you  come  on 
duty  ;  did  you  ever  see  any  provisions  shipped  in  there  ? 

A.  I  seen  provisions  come  there  from  up  town  in  grocery 
wagons. 

Q.  When  the  Deputy  Warden  boarded  the  guards,  is  it  not 
6 — PRISON. 


82 

a  notorious  fact  that  provisions  went  into  that  Deputy  War- 
den's house  out  of  this  Prison  ?  Is  not  that  the  common 
understanding  of  the  guards? 

A.     iSTo,  sir. 

Q,  Did  not  the  guards  talk  about  it,  that  there  was  so  much 
charged  for  their  hoard  when  it  was  all  taken  from  the  State  of 
Indiana  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  They  did  talk  about  the  excessive  board  they 
paid. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  best  beef  was  taken  and  used  for 
the  benefit  of  the  officers  of  this  Institution? 

A.     I  don't  know  that  to  be  a  fact,  sir. 

Q.     Where  do  you  board  ? 

A.  I  board  at  the  Warden's.  I  eat  supper  and  breakfast 
there. 

Q.  You  say  you  never  saw  provisions  hauled  there  by  wa- 
gons used  in  this  Pri?on  ? 

A.  I  saw  them  with  goods  that  they  brought  from  up  town. 
Mr.  Allen,  the  Steward,  brought  them  down  when  he  brought 
the  mail.  Mrs.  Howard  would  ask  him  to  bring  some  things. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  he  has  lived  the  same  as  the  others 
— got  his  supplies  out  of  this  Institution  ? 

A.     I  don't  know  anything  about  that,  sir. 

Q.     Why  would  she  say  that  to  Mr.  Allen  ? 

A.  Because  that  was  the  only  conveyance  she  had.  She 
would  know  Mr.  Allen  was  going  up  town  for  the  mail  and 
send  one  of  the  children  down,  and  ask  him  to  stop  at  some- 
body's store  and  get  her  so  and  so. 

Q.  Has  the  Warden  got  his  own  help  there  to  do  his  er- 
rands? 'Don't  he  have  the  convicts  do  all  the  work  there  ? 

A.  The  convicts  never  go  anywhere  except  from  here  to 
his  house.  He  has  two  girls  there. 

Q.  What  are  you  afraid  of?  Are  you  afraid  of  losing  your 
position  ? 

A.  I  am  not  a  d —  bit  afraid  of  losing  my  position  ;  I  don't 
care  if  I  go  out  of  here  to-night. 

Mr.  Fred  Knap  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows : 
Examination  by  Mr.  Patten  : 

Q.     You  are  a  guard  here  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Where  do  you  live  ? 


83 

A.     I  Jive  down  on  this  street,  opposite  Prison. 

Q.     Do  you  know  where  they  get  the  Prison  beef? 

A.  No,  sir  ;  I  do  not.  All  I  know  is,  I  see  the  wagon  once 
in  a  while.  It  conies  down  this  street. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  they  get  it  from  across  the  river  from 
a  man  by  the  name  of  Bloom? 

A.     I  believe  so. 

<(>.     Where  does  Mr.  Allen  live? 

A.     lie  lives  up  in  the  city ;  this  is  outside  of  -the  city. 

<,).     When  do  you  pass  backward  and  forward  to  the  Prison? 

A.  I  go  on  in  the  morning  at  6  o'clock,  go  to  dinner  about 
half  past  twelve,  and  home  in  the  evening  after  the  bell  rings. 

(,).  How  much  provision  is  daily  taken  out  here  which  goes 
to  the  Warden  or  Deputy  Warden  ? 

A.  Well,  sir,  all  I  know  about  this  :  I  was  here  at  the  gate 
ten  or  eleven  weeks  last  fall,  and  they  carried  bread  out  every 
day.  I  believe  they  are  still  doing  it,  and  once  in  a  while  a 
basket  full  of  potatoes  while  I  was  there. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a'  fact  that  these  wagons  delivered  beef,  hams 
and  one  thing  or  another  to  these  residences? 

A.     Not  to  my  knowledge;  I  never  saw  it, 

Q.     What  do  the  guards  say  about  it? 

A.  I  never  heard  them  say  it  come  off  the  State.  I  have 
heard  some  talk  about  their  paying  too  much  board. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  the  beef  brought  to  Prison 
with  the  choice  parts  taken  out? 

A.     No,  sir. 

(I.     Did  you  see  the  beef  come? 

A.  I  am  a  very  poor  judge  of  meat;  I  merely  seen  it  and 
told  them  to  pass  tlxe  wagon. 

<c>.     Ever  seen  any  bones  in  it? 

A.  Oh,  yes;  certainly.  As  a  general  thing,  it  has  been 
pretty  fair  meat.  All  I  see  of  the  meat  is  in  the  dining  room. 

Q.     How  did  it  appear  in  the  wagon? 

A.  It  was  cut  up  in  pieces,  30  to  50  pounds.  It  didn't 
come  in  whole  beef. 

<c>.     Do  the  convicts  get  any  vegetables  from  the  garden? 

A.  During  the  summer,  tomatoes,  parsnips,  cabbage,  such 
as  that. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander :     Is  the  institution  owing  you  for  pay  ? 

A.     Well,  I  don't  know.     It  is  the  custom  to  keep  back  two 


84 

• 

months.     We  were  paid  for  October  the  last  pay  day.      That 
was  some  time  last  month. 

Charles  Arbegust,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows: 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten:     Are  you  connected  with  the  prison? 

A.     I  am,  and  have  been  for  the  last  three  years. 

Q.     What  is  your  occupation  ? 

A.     That  of  a  gardener.     I  attend  to  the  garden  here. 

Q.     How  is  that  garden  raised  ? 

A.     By  convict  labor,  except  myself. 

Q.     You  are  employed  by  the  State  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir;  I  get  $55  a  month. 

Q.     State  if  you  raise  many  vegetables,  and  what  kind  ? 

A.     I   raise    right   smart   of   vegetables;    principally   green 
onions,  tomatoes,  cabbage,  lettuce — those  kind  of  vegetables- 
mostly  used  in  the  Prison. 

Q.     Do  you  raise  any  potatoes  ? 

A.     No. 

Q.     Do  you  raise  celery  ? 

A.     I  raise  celery. 

Q.     About  what  amount  of  vegetables  do  you  raise  ? 

A.  We  raise  about  all  off  about  ten  acres  of  land.  Some 
of  it  is  very  poor  land,  but  while  the  tomatoes  are  growing  we 
raise  sufficient  quantity  of  them  for  the  Prison.  And  of  cab- 
bage, I  have  raised  three  and  one-half  to  four  acres  of  it. 

Q.  Is  it  not  a  fact  that  the  Warden,  Deputy  Warden  and 
the  officials  here  at  the  Prison  all  receive  out  of  your  garden 
all  the  vegetables  that  they  demand  or  want. 

A.  Well,  not  all;  not  the  officials.  The  Warden  and 
Deputy  Warden  do,  but  there  is  none  others. 

Q.  But  the  Warden  and  Deputy  Warden  receive  all  their 
vegetables  from  your  garden  V 

A.     Oh  yes,  such  as  we  grow. 

Q.     How  far  do  you  live  from  in  front  of  the  Prison? 

A.  I  live  at  Captain  Howard's — that  little  brick  there.. 
Because  of  my  living  there,  I  have,  in  addition  to  the  State 
garden,  charge  of  that  green-house. 

Q.     What  becomes  of  the  flowers  from  the  green-house  ? 

A.     We  decorate  the  yards.     We  don't  sell  any  of  them. 

Q.  Do  you  have  an  opportunity  to  know  what  provisions 
are  delivered  at  the  Warden's  or  Deputy  Warden's  ? 


85 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Don't  you  see  the  provisions  brought  in  there  ? 

A.     I  only  see  what  I  take  in  there. 

Arthur  Brooks,  called  upon  telegraphic  request  of  Hon.  O. 
L.  Jewett,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander:     What  county  did  you  come  from? 

A.     "Wayne  County. 

Q.     When  ? 

A.     I  came  here  in  1882 ;  December  30. 

Q.     What  was  the  charge  against  you  ? 

A.  I  shot  my  family  physician  for  the  seduction  of  my 
wife. 

Q.     Give  us  the  circumstances. 

A.  Well,  the  sum  and  substance  of  it  is,  I  was  a  stock  ship- 
per, away  from  home  a  great  deal  of  the  time.  My  brother-in- 
la'w  lived  across  the  street.  He  told  me  about  certain  things 
that  he  had  saw  which  created  my  suspicion,  and  one  evening 
I  thought  I  would  watch.  I  had  told  her  that  I  was  going  to 
leave  and  would  not  be  back  until  the  next  day.  She  attracted 
my  suspicion  by  her  maneuvers,  and  I  got  a  letter  from  her 
which  revealed  the  whole  affair.  After  that  I  asked  her  a  ques- 
tion and  she  could  not  answer,  and  then  she  admitted  her 
guilt.  I  went  immediately,  got  my  revolver  and  shot  him. 

Q.     Killed  him  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     What  is  the  term  of  your  sentence  ? 

A.     Twenty-one  years. 

Q.  Is  anybody  interesting  himself  in  your  behalf  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  your  pardon  ? 

A.  Mr.  Jewett  is  at  the  present  time.  I  do  not  know  what 
he  has  done. 

Q.     A  petition  is  out,  I  suppose  ? 

A.     I  presume  there  is  one. 

Q.     What  is  your  wife  doing  since  ? 

A.  She  has  been  living  with  her  own  sister  until  recently. 
She  is  now  with  her  niece  at  Logansport. 

Q.     Do  you  correspond  with  her  ? 

A.  She  has  written  to  me.  I  have  not  received  any  com- 
munication from  her  for  two  months. 

Q.  You  may  state  if  you  have  any  arrangement  about  con- 
tract price  between  yourself  and  Mr.  Jewett,  if  you  will? 


86 

A.  I  told  him  I  would  give  him  $500.  I  paid  him  $100 
retaining  fee,  and  was  to  pay  $400  when  he  was  successful.  I 
employed  Mr.  Cain  at  that  time.  Mr.  Cain  did  the  business 
through  him. 

Q.     "What,  if  anything,  did  you  pay  Mr.  Cain  ? 

A.     I  paid  him  $50. 

<  I     Who  is  he  ? 

A.  He  was  the  Chaplain.  There  was  a  little  irregularity.. 
The  Chaplain  said  he  had  particular  influence.  He  came  tome 
and  said  he  would  do  a  certain  amount  of  work  if  I  would  give 
him  $50. 

(,).     If  you  would  give  him  $50? 

A.  Well,  he  didn't  say  what  he  did  want  in  the  first  place, 
but  he  said  he  was  acquinted  with  quite  a  number  of  Repre- 
sentatives and  Senators.  He  always  expressed  himself  as  will- 
ing to  do  anything  he  could  in  my  behalf.  I  told  him  one  day 
if  he  would  go  ahead  and  help  get  a  petition  and  assist  me 
through  Mr.  Jewett,  I  would  give  him  $50,  and  $100  if -success- 
ful. He  said  he  would  do  it,  and  told  me  the  amount  of  work 
he  would  do.  I  sent  for  my  friend.  He  came  down  here  and 
made  the  payment.  I  did  not  hear  from  Mr.  Cain  for  a  good 
while.  Finally,  he  told  me  that  the  nomination  was  on  hand, 
that  they  could  not  do  much  of  anything,  but  would  proceed 
at  once  when  that  was  over. 

<v).     When  did  you  pay  him  this  fee  of  $50? 

A.     I  think  it  was  in  July  ;  my  memory  is  not  distinct. 

<L>.     Does  he  correspond  with  you  about  it. 

A.  No.  He  came  down  here  just  after  the  election  ;  seemed 
as  if  he  felt  like  owing  me  an  apology  for  not  going  ahead  with 
the  work.  He  says:  "I  have  just  been  down  to  'New  Albany 
and  saw  Mr.  Jewett.  Mr.  Jewett  has  his  arrangements  all 
made  and  has  got  everything  he  wants.  We  are  now  waiting 
for  your  friend  at  Richmond.  Just  as  soon  as  I  can  write  to 
your  friend  up  there  and  get  a  return,  I  will  let  you  know  when 
we  will  be  at  Indianapolis."  That  was  about  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber. 1  wrote  for  Mr.  Jewett  to  come,  and  Mr.  Jewett  came  and 
he  said  he  did  not  see  him  at  all  that  day.  He  said  the  only 
time  he  saw  him  was  in  a  crowd  one  day  and  simply  shook 
hands  with  him.  I  wish  to  substantiate  what  I  say  by  Captain 
Howard.  I  refer  to '  any  writing  since  the  money  came,  the 
$150.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Cain.  Captain  Howard  did  not. under- 


87 

stand  the  letter,  being  as  no  money  came  through  the  office, 
He  called  me  to  the  office  and  wanted  an  explanation.  I  told 
him  the  money  was  delivered  to  Mr.  Cain  and  explained  it  ta 
him,  and  he  said,  I  will  use  his  exact  language :  "  If  you  lose 
your  money,  don't  you  ever  say  a-d —  word  to  me  about  it."" 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  Mr.  Cain  getting  prisoners  to  ad- 
vance money  to  secure  pardons? 

A.  I  understand  I  am  one  out  of  fifty  that  he  has  con- 
tracted with.  Probably  fifty  or  seventy-five.  I  understand 
there  are  at  least  that  much. 

Q.  •  Do  you  know  ot  any  of  them  paying  him  money? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  know  this  man,  Nelson,  in  saddle-tree  shop. 
He  paid  him  $50. 

Q.     What  was  the  average  amount  they  generally  paid  him  ? 

A.     He  would  take  anything.     All  the  way  from  $5  up. 
'    Q.     What  do  you  know  about  his  success  in  getting  pardons? 

A.     I  never  knew  him  to  turn  his  hand  over. 

Q.  What  about  his  communicating  with  them  about  their 
prospects  in  getting  the  pardon? 

A.  I  took  some  pains  in  finding  out.  They  said  they  had 
never  known  of  him  as  doing  anything. 

.Q.     Did  Mr.  Cain  pay  the  $100  to  Mr.  Jewett  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Isaac  W.  Sanders,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  Captain,  you  can  state  how  long  you 
have  been  in  prison,  and  state  how  long  your  term  of  service  is. 

A.  I  was  sentenced  the  17th  of  April,  1878,  for  life.  My 
age  is  48  years. 

Q.  State  whether  you  were  a  soldier,  and  what  rank  you 
held  in  the  army. 

A.  1  was  2d  Lieutenant  Company  F,  10th  Ind.,  nearly  four 
months,  and  was  wounded.  Also,  Captain  Company  G,  78th 
Ind.;  Company  D,  115th  Ind. ;  Company  D,  133d  Ind. 

Q.     Are  you  drawing  a  pension? 

A.     I  am. 

Q.     AVhat  is  the  number  of  your  certificate? 

A.     198,606. 

Q.     What  amount? 

A.  $17.50  per  month,  to  commence  on  lire  26th  day  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1864,  and  $20  per  month  from  April  3,  1884. 


Q.  State  how  much  mosey  you  have  drawn  since  you  have 
been  in  this  prison. 

A.     $5,007.25. 

Q.  What  have  you  done  with  the  money  ?  Can  you  account 
for  it  now? 

A.  I  can  not  itemize  the  first  part  of  it.  I  sent  away  all  up 
to  18th  of  last  August,  except  $42. 

Q.     How  did  you  receive  this  money  from  the  Government  ? 

A.  Through  the  Warden.  He  paid  it  over  to  me  as  I  need- 
ed it. 

Q.     How  much  does  he  owe  you  now  ? 

A.     The  way  I  figure  it,  $2,300.50. 

Q.     Did  you  keep  an  account  all  the  time  with  the  Warden? 

A.     I  have. 

Q.  Will  you  foot  up  there  and  see  how  much  you  have  re- 
ceived from  the  Warden  by  your  book  ? 

A.  All  but  $2,300.50  of  this  amount.  I  paid  Mr.  Bagot, 
guard,  $67.50. 

Q.  Did  you  give  orders  on  the  Warden  to  Mr.  Bagot  when 
you  wanted  to  pay  Mr.  Bagot  the  $67. 

A.  Mr.  Bagot  received  my  pension  checks ;  I  indorsed  them 
and  he  drew  the  money.  He  had  charge  of  the  mail. 

Q.     Did  the  Warden  permit  him  to  open  your  letters? 

A.  He  was  appointed  to  open  all  letters.  That  was  his  bus- 
iness, to  read  all  mail  going  in  and  going  out.  I  left  the  money 
in  his  hands,  as  I  tell  you,  it  would  be  convenient.  He  also 
kept  the  sutler's  store. 

Q.  Are  there  any  other  soldiers  drawing  pensions  in  the 
prison  ? 

A.     Yes,  as  high  as  ten. 

Q.     State  if  he  retained  any  money  from  others. 

A.     Not  to  my  knowledge. 

Q.     You  made  him  your  bank  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir ;  we  are  not  allowed  to  handle  one  cent  of 
money. 

Q.  Did  he  account  for  all  the  money  he  had  received  from 
you  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  He  received  $67.50  of  your  money ;  how  much  did  he 
account  for  ? 

A.     He  accounted  for  all  except  $42.50. 


89 

Q.     What  became  of  Mr.  Bagot,  where  is  he  ? 

A.     He  is  not  here. 

Q.  State  if  the  Warden  knew  anything  about  Mr.  Bagot's 
transactions  with  you,  taking  your  checks. 

A.  I  don't  know  whether  he  did  or  not.  Captain  Huette 
seen  me  often  about  the  matter.  Captain  Huette  said  it  did 
not  make  any  difference  to  them  about  Mr.  Bagot  handling  the 
money.  I  told  him  I  had  done  it  for  convenience,  and  I  had 
confidence  in  Mr.  Bagot.  He  said  :  "  In  case  of  your  death, 
suppose  your  friends  know  you  draw  a  pension,  they  would 
call  here  and  want  an  account  of  all  this  money.  They  have 
no  account  of  it  in  the  office  here,  and  it  should  come  through 
the  office  after  this."  I  took  his  advice. 

Q.     Who  is  Captain  Huette  ? 

A.     He  is  the  Clerk. 

x  Q.     State  if  you  paid  out  any  other  sums  to  any  person  con- 
nected with  the  prison;  if  so,  state  to  whom  and  how  much. 

A.  Well,  I  loaned  a  guard,  Mr.  Shields,  here  now,  $25  by 
consent  of  the  Warden.  He  was  to  see  I  was  paid  through  the 
office.  That  was  in  December  last. 

Q.     What  is  his  name? 

A.     Frank  P.  Shields. 

Q.     Is  it  paid  ? 

A.     It  is  not  paid. 

Q.     State  to  whom  you  paid  any  other  money. 

A.  I  paid  some  money  to  Captain  Huette  for  some  little  sup- 
plies— underclothing,  handkerchief,  socks  and  such  things. 
Small  amount. 

Q.     To  any  other  person  ? 

A.     No ;  that  is  all  I  can  think  of. 

Q.     I  see  an  item,  "To  Chaplain  Cain,  $10  ;"  what  is  that  ? 

A.  Chaplain  Cain  did  some  writing  of  letters  for  me,  in 
getting  up  some  papers  in  regard  to  petition  for  pardon  before 
the  Governor. 

Q.  "To  Indianapolis  Sentinel,  $3.65,  three  months;"  does 
this  paper  cost  that  much  ? 

A.  I  gave  Martin,  the  Librarian,  an  order  for  that  much.  I 
think  he  makes  a  profit  for  his  trouble.  He  told  me  22|  cents 
on  each  copy  for  a  month.  That  included  the  Sunday  paper. 
I  paid  former  chaplain,  Mr.  Beherrall,  on  the  1st  of  November, 
$25,  and  on  December  11,  1886,  $10.  He  made  three  trips  to 


90 

Indianapolis  in  the  interest  of  my  pardon,  and  looking  after 
other  business  of  mine.  I  insisted  to  put  the  money  upon  him. 
He  is  a  friend  of  mine.  These  amounts  were  all  paid  with  the 
Warden's  consent  on  my  order. 

Q.  State  if  the  convicts  are  called  upon  to  contribute  money 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  up  petitions  by  which  they  are  to 
secure  pardons,  or  to  employ  any  person  ? 

A.  Not  that  I  know  of.  This  dollar  you  see  was  given  to 
Billy  Taylor  to  assist  him  in  getting  a  petition. 

Q.  State  if  there  are  persons  here  engaged  in  that  kind  of 
work  ? 

A.     Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.     How  are  these  subscriptions  started  ? 

A.     By  the  man  himself. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  I  will  ask  you  whether  the  Chap- 
lains interested  themselves  in  securing  pardons? 

A.     Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.     How  about  Mr.  Cain  taking  an  interest  in  your  affairs? 

A.  I  wanted  him  to  do  some  writing  for  me  in  regard  to  the 
matter  when  I  was  sick. 

Q.  State  if  it  is  not  the  duty  of  the  Chaplain,  if  they  do  not 
make  it  their  duty,  to  write  for  prisoners  when  they  are  sick 
their  letters,  etc.  ? 

A.     Well.,  I  don't  know  about  that. 

<>>.  By  Mr.  Patton  :  In  reference  to  this  money,  when  the 
Warden  had  it  in  his  hands  and  you  requested  him  to  deposit 
it  in  the  bank,  do  you  know  whether  it  was  deposited  in  your 
.name  or  his  name? 

A.     It  was  deposited  in  my  name. 

<,).     Have  you  certificate  of  deposit? 

A.     Certainly. 

<,).     What  did  you  do  with  that? 

A.  My  certificate  was  placed  in  the  safe  -in  the  office.  I 
^signed  my  name  to  it  and  gave  it  to  Captain  Howard  last  week. 

Q.     Why  did  you  do  that  ? 

A.     We  had  a  talk  about  it. 

Q.  Did  you  do  that  for  the  purpose  of  his  drawing  the 
money  ? 

A.     Yes. 

Q.  You  say  that  you  indorsed  this  certificate  for  the  pur- 
pose of  his  drawing  the  money  out  of  the  bank? 


91 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     For  what  purpose  ? 

A.     I  do  not  know. 

Q.     Did  he  tell  you  for  what  he  wanted  the  money  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     You  permitted  him  to  do  that  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  Do  you  know  what  time  it  was  last 
week  that  you  indorsed  this  certificate  ? 

A.     Friday,  February  11. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     You  have  not  received  that  money  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.    How  much  was  that  certificate  ? 

A.     Twenty-two  hundred  dollars,  even. 

Q.  Was  that  certificate  correct?  Should.it  not  have  been 
J$2,300? 

A.  No,  there  was  some  money  in  the  office  already.  There 
is  really  due  me  $2,300.50,  including  $25  Mr.  Shields  owes  me. 

Q.     What  did  he  say  to  you  at  the  time  he  wanted  to  get  it? 

A.  He  said  he  wanted  it  for  a  few  days.  He  asked  for  it  the 
day  before.  We  was  talking  about  other  matters,  and  lie  said, 
I  want  it  for  a  few  days. 

Q.     He  did  not  say  anything  about  the  Committee  coming? 

A.  No.  I  said  something  about  this  being  the  last  money 
I  had.  He  said  it  was  as  good  as  a  bank  for  a  few  days,  but  I 
did't  sign  it  until  the  next  day.  Next  day,  I  signed  it  and  gave 
it  to  him  without  saying  a  word. 

(,).     Was  you  afraid  not  to  sign  it  ? 

A.  Well,  of  course,  I  can't  tell.  I  am  in  very  poor  health. 
I  say  to  you  I  have  not  been  very  badly  treated,  but  I  don't 
know  if  I  want  to  incur  his  ill  will. 

(±.  1  will  ask  you  if  under  any  other  circumstances  than 
that  which  you  are  in  would  you  have  indorsed  the  certificate? 

A.     I  would  not. 

Q.  State  the  general  management  here — whether  prisoners- 
are  generally  mistreated. 

A.  Persons  are  not  so  badly  treated  now  as  half  a  year  ago. 
They  have  not  done  any  catting  for  three  years  ;  the  mode  of 
punishment  is  solitary  confinement  and  taking  good  time, 
hand-cuffing  up  to  the  door;  but  there  is  not  very  much  of  the 
last. 


92 

Q.     On  what  class  is  it  inflicted  ? 

A.     The  insubordinates. 

Q.     What  about  your  food. 

A.     Our  fare  is  just  what  you  see. 

Q.  State  the  condition  of  your  bedding,  particularly  for 
keeping  clean. 

A.  Well,  the  tick — of  course  you  see  all  that ;  with  the 
•changes  and  tearing  down  of  walls  it  is  almost  impossible  for 
to  keep  those  cell-houses  clean.  So  far  as  the  bed  is  concerned, 
whenever  there  is  a  call  made  for  a  new  bed  the  cell-house 
guard — Shields  is  a  very  attentive  man — he  sees  to  that ;  there 
could  be"  improvements,  of  course.  I  was  never  in  prison  be- 
fore, and  don't  know  what  is  to  be  expected. 

A.  B.  Jones,  convict,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander  :     Where  did  you  come  from  ? 

A.     My  home  is  in  Lawrence  County  ;  I  came  from  Monroe. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  State  if  you  have  been  employed  in  the 
prison  as  a  trusty. 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     How  long  ? 

A.     Nearly  five  years. 

Statement :  Nearly  two-thirds  of  the  reports  against  the 
prisoners,  the  complaints  of  the  prisoners,  and  the  punishment 
of  prisoners  comes  from  the  shoe-shop,  where  there  is  only 
about  160  men  employed,  and  the  cause  is  very  plain  to  one 
who  is  there  to  see  it.  Mr.  James  Kennedy,  the  head  guard 
there,  is  an  old,  experienced,  obdurate  criminal;  he  is  noted  for 
cruelty,  a  great  lover  ot  gain,  a  habitual  drunkard,  and  what  is 
here  called  a  Prison  Ring  Lord.  He  receives  pay  from  all7 
quarters,  and  stands  ready  to  commit  any  manner  of  crime  or 
cruelty  free  in  the  interest  of  the  Prison  King,  or  in  the  inter- 
est of  contractors  for  pay.  He  is  warden,  guard,  foreman,  as- 
sistant, superintendent  and  bull  dog  of  the  shoe-shop.  He  has 
boots  and  shoes  made  there  for  himself  and  family.  He  gets  a 
good  portion  of  his  fuel  there.  He  often  draws  on  the  con- 
tractor for  lumber ;  he  has  considerable  work  done  in  the  box- 
shop  and  the  machine-shop  of  that  institution,  and  he  receives 
a  great  many  other  little  presents  from  there,  and  pays  for  all 
in  overtasking  and  crowding  the  prisoners  in  the  most  brutal 
manner.  He  has  a  son  who  has  been  about  here  the  the  last 


93 

three  or  four  years,  sometimes  a  guard  and  sometimes  a  fore- 
man. He  is  now  a  foreman  in  the  shoe-shop.  He  is  there 
foreman  for  the  contractor  to  demand  the  work,  and  his  father 
is  there  a  guard  to  force  the  work  done. 

The  new  cell-house  is  a  perfect  chinchbug  harbor.  The 
brick  walls  of  the  cells  are  alive  with  them  every  warm  spell, 
and  through  the  summer  it  is  terrible.  The  cells  smell  of  them, 
the  sheets  and  the  blankets  are  bloody  from  them,  and  the 
men's  skin  look  horrible  from  the  bites.  There  was  not  less 
than  two  hundred  men  asked  and  sent  requests  to  Capt.  How- 
ard, last  summer,  to  allow  them  to  buy  some  bug  destroyer,  but 
he  refused  all ;  neither  would  he  give  it  to  them  nor  allow  their 
friends  to  give  it  to  them.  Two  times,  through  the  summer, 
he  sent  some  worthless  and  most  worthless  prisoners,  who  lay 
around  the  cell-house,  to  destroy  the  bugs,  and  they  done 
nothing  more  than  throw  a  little  dust  of  powder  in  the  cells 
"which  had  no  more  effect  than  that  much  water,  but  it  made 
^an  excuse  for  Capt.  Howard  to  not  allow  the  men  to  buy  the 
powder,  and  that  was  all  it  was  done  tor.  It  is  brutal  and  an 
outrage,  and  a  horror  only  realized  by  the  sufferers. 

The  rule  here  is  that  all  money  belonging  to  prisoners  must 
go  into  the  prison  office,  and  there  it  goes ;  and  it  makes  no 
difference  how  much  the  prisoner  needs  his  money,  or  how 
much  his  family  are  suffering  for  it,  nor  what  the  circumstances 
and  final  results  may  be,  it  requires  a  period  of  time  from  one 
week  to  three  months,  and  a  great  deal  of  trouble  for  him  to 
get  his  money  out  of  the  office.  I  have  often  known  men  to 
make  from  ten  to  fifteen  trips  to  the  office,  and  be  months  try- 
ing to  get  a  little  money  sent  to  their  distressed  families.  I  am 
sure  that  if  you  will  closely  question  Mr.  Huette,  the  Prison 
Clerk,  on  the  matter,  he  will  substantiate  what  I  have  said. 

When  the  new  cell-house  was  built  there  was  gas  pipes  and 
burners  put  in  each  cell,  but  the  burners  are  all  taken  out,  and 
now  the  prisoners  are  allowed  an  average  of  one  and  a  half 
very  small  candles  per  week  through  the  long  winter  nights, 
and  none  through  the  summer ;  neither  are  they  allowed  to 
buy  them  nor  their  friends  allowed  to  give  them  candles.  What 
is  it  worth  to  the  State  for  illiterate  men  to  be  compelled  to  let 
their  books  lay  on  the  shelf  while  sitting  in  a  nest  of  vermin 
and  teetotal  darkness,  while  no  less  than  five  hundred  candles 
burn  on  Capt.  Howard's  yard  fence  to  light  up  a 'political  dem- 
onstration? 


94 

They  pretend  to  give  the  prisoners  pork  for  dinner  four  times 
per  week,  but  the  stuff'  that  is  given  is  so  fat  and  strong  that 
not  one-fourth  of  the  men  eat  it,  but  it  is  taken  off  the  tables,, 
rendered  out,  and  the  lard  taken  inside.  They  pretend  that 
they  put  the  lard  in  hominy  for  breakfast,  but  that  is  false- 
there  is  not  one-fourth  of  it  goes  there.  Please  closely  ques- 
tion Kendrick,  their  pet  cook  at  the  kitchen,  and  3*011  can  catch 
him  lying  for  them. 

The  same  wagon  that  delivers  the  fresh  beef  here  hauls  the 
best  of  it  out  again  to  private  parties.  Please  question  Ken- 
drick at  the  kitchen  and  Thompson  at  the  shoe-shop  concern- 
ing the  above. 

It  is  terrible  the  way  men  suffer  here  with  cold.  At  the- 
start  they  took  one-half  of  the  heaters  out  of  the  new  cell- 
house,  and  run  it  so  two  winters ;  arid  then,  under  false  pre- 
tense that  the  house  could  not  be  heated  with  steam,  they  aban- 
doned the  heaters  altogether  and  put  in  stoves,  and  the  conse- 
quences are  the  men  suffer  terribly.  While  they  were  pre- 
tending to  warm  the  house  with  steam,  they  kept  a  stove  in 
one  end  of  the  house  specially  for  the  guards.  It  always  is  a 
great  deal  colder  in  the  cells.  Now,  if  the  guards  with  warm 
underclothes  and  overcoats  on,  and  generally  full  of  whisky, 
could  not  keep  warm  outside  the  cells,  without  a  stove  to  stay 
by,  then  how  is  it  with  the  prisoners?  There  was  not  one  sin- 
gle Sunday  or  holiday  last  winter  that  I  did  not  lay  abed  the 
day  through  rather  than  suffer  with  the  cold.  It  has  not  been 
quite  so  bad  during  the  last  two  months,  since  they  have  be- 
come a  little  scared,  but  it  is  brutal  yet. 

There  was  a  good  mechanic,  who  worked  for  the  State  and 
officers.  He  was  a  trusty.  His  work  was  principally  making 
bird-cages,  making  and  mending  furniture,  fine  cedar  chests, 
etc.  There  was  a  standing  order  for  the  contractors  to  let  him 
have  what  he  called  for.  He  done  a  great  deal  of  work  for 
George  Howard,  such  as  making  tables,  desks,  secretaries,  lard 
coolers,  and  many  other  things  for  his  pork-house  and  store- 
room. The  material  was  always  bought  of  the  contractor  and 
charged  to  the  State,  and  no  other  account  kept  of  it.  I  often 
bought  lumber  and  hardware  of  the  contractors  for  George 
Howard,  which  was  charged  to  the  State,  and  the  amount  not 
known  even  to  George  Howard.  I  built  and  painted  a  summer- 
house  for  the  State  in  Captain  Howard's  yard,  and  Mr.  Allen, 


95 

liought  1,000  pounds  of  white  lend,  and  oil  in  proportion,  to 
paint  the  house  with,  and  I  used  about  100  pounds  of  the 
paint,  and  George  Howard  hauled  the  balance  back  to  town 
and  had  his  store-house  painted  with  it.  When  asked  for  the 
paint  and  brushes,  I  hesitated,  but  George  Howard  gave  me  to 
understand  plainly  that  it  was  all  right  with  his  brother  Jack, 
and  he  would  stand  between  me  and  all  danger. 

There  were  two  prisoners,  one  a  book-keeper  for  a  contractor, 
the  other  a  mechanic,  working  for  the  State  and  Prison  officers. 
They  put  their  heads  together  and  agreed  to  keep  a  private  ac- 
count and  see  how  much  the  State  was  losing  on  certain  pri- 
vate parties.  So  they  kept  account  of  all  that  come  plainly 
under  their  observation  about  two  and  one-half  years,  until  the 
account  reached  over  $2,500.  And  then  they  managed  to  get 
the  confidence  of  an  honest  guard,  who  had  all  confidence  in 
one  of  the  Directors,  and  proposed  explaining  all  to  him,  which 
was  done  by  the  guard,  who  asked  the  Prison  Director  to  go 
over  to  a  certain  shop  and  receive  the  written  account.  But 
the  Director  did  not  have  time  to  go  to  the  shop  after  the 
written  account,  and  the  guard  was  forthwith  discharged. 

Captain  Howard's  brother,  George,  built  a  pork-house  in 
front  of  the  Prison,  and  a  great  portion  of  the  lumber  and 
other  material  was  bought  of  the  "Prison  contractors  and 
charged  to  the  State,  and  the  principal  part  of  the  labor  was 
performed  by  prisoners. 

George  Howard  had  two  very  large  and  well-finished  ice- 
chests  made  in  one  of  the  contractor's  shops,  and  when  he  went 
to  settle  for  them  he  had  the  bill  changed  by  counting  the 
hardware  and  lumber  and  labor  all  in  as  lumber,  and  the  whole 
charged  to  the  State. 

Captain  Howard  built  a  house  for  his  sister,  and  all  the  fin- 
ishing lumber  was  bought  of  a  Prison  contractor  and  charged 
to  the  State,  and  the  carpenter  work  was  done  by  the  State 
carpenters. 

In  the  year  1879  Captain  Howard  bribed  an  old  life-time 
prisoner  to  testify  falsely  for  him,  and  afterward  mistreated  the 
prisoner  until  he  wrote  him  a  letter  in  plain  English  (which 
was  seen  and  read  by  two  other  parties)  that  he  had  perjured 
his  soul  for  him,  with  the  promise  that  he  should  be  well- 
treated,  and  now  he  was  being  mistreated,  and  if  certain  privi- 
leges were  not  allowed  him  he  would  turn  him  over  to  the  law, 


06 

and  Captain  Howard,  after  reading  the  letter,  turned  the  old 
man  outside  to  eat  in  his  dining-room.  The  old  man  was  after- 
ward caught  violating  the  rules  and  turned  in  again,  and  \>y 
making  another  severe  threat  of  exposing  corruption  he  wa& 
turned  out,  and  remained  out  during  the  remainder  of  his  time. 
lie  slept  outside  and  boarded  at  Captain  Howard's  house. 

[The  above  sworn  statement  in  writing  was  delivered  to  the 
Committee  a  few  moments  previous  to  their  adjournment.] 

John  R.  Tucker  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows  : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander:  Where  do  you  live? 

A.     In  Jeffersonville. 

Q.     You  were  formerly  in  the  penitentiary  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     When  were  you  discharged  ''. 

A.     Seventh  of  December  last,  a  year  ago. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  expenditures  there  and  charged  to 
the  State  made  for  political  demonstrations  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  there  were  several.  Amongst  them  was  a  dis- 
play of  fire-works,  candles  and  such  things  as  that  in  front  of 
Captain  Howard's  house,  and  a  few  before  Captain  Craig's. 
We  put  up  quite  a  fancy  work  in  front  of  Captain  Howard'a 
house — Chinese  lanterns  and  arches.  There  were  nine  arches 
in  all  a^d  twenty-nine  candles  on  the  arch. 

Q.     Did  Captain  Howard  do  that  at  his  own  expense? 

A.  I  was  ordered  out  to  the  work,  and  I  was  to  make  my 
bill  out  against  the  State.  The  foreman  signed  the  bill  O.  K.r 
and  the  Clerk  put  it  on  the  book. 

Q.     What  would  be  the  probable  cost? 

A.  I  don't  know  what  it  would  cost.  The  candles  were 
brought  from  the  cell -house.  They  were  candles  that  were 
State  property  ;  I  am  satisfied  of  that.  They  were  kept  where 
State  property  was.  The  lumber  came  from  the  carpenter- 
shop.  Perin  &  Gaff  furnished  that.  It  was  charged  up  to  the 
State.  My  orders  were  to  make  out  the  bill  against  the  State. 
Whenever  I  did  a  job  of  work,  the  State  was  charged  up  with  it. 

Q.     You  don't  remember  the  bill  of  items. 

A.  There  were  five  of  us  working  on  it  all  day  up  to  9  at 
night,  when  we  lit  the  lights.  I  was  working  for  Perin  &  Gaff 
at  that  time  on  contract. 

Q.     What  do  you  think  would  be  the  probable  cost  ? 

A.     Not  less  than  $75.     I  don't  suppose  it  would  be  done 


97 

for  that.     Then  there  was  the   time  of  taking  it  down  next 
day. 

Q.  1  will  ask  if  }TOU  ever  heard  Captain  Howard  say  how  it 
was  paid  for  ? 

A.  Not  much.  I  never  heard  anybody  only  my  foreman. 
I  always  asked,  where  is  this  going? 

Q.     Any  other  demonstration  that  you  remember  of? 

A.  Those  bells  were  rigged  up  last  Presidential  campaign 
at  the  expense  of  the  State.  I  went  over  to  the  paint  shop  and 
got  my  instructions.  The  bells  came  from  Pcrin  &  Gaff.  I 
don't  know  whether  there  was  any  bill  made  out  for  them  or 
not.  I  made  the  rack  for  the  bells  and  fixed  the  frame  on  the 
wagon  and  helped  put  the  bells  on. 

Q.  What  do  you  think  was  the  cost  of  that  ? 
t  A.  There  was  three  of  us  working  on  that  all  day  and  about 
three  hundred  feet  of  lumber  used.  I  know  that  was  charged 
the  State.  I  made  out  that  bill  and  presented  it  right  there. 
I  think  there  were  three  or  four  bells  in  a  line  running  across. 
There  must  have  been  fifteen  or  twenty  bells.  Different  sizes 
of  bells.  It  made  quite  a  display. 

Q.     Do  you  remember  the  amount  of  bill  charged. 

A.  I  don't.  I  charged  for  a  full  day's  time  for  three  of  us  ; 
there  was  not  less  than  two  hundred  feet  of  lumber.  1  don't 
know  how  much  it  was  worth. 

Q.     You  charged  for  this  labor? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  charged  the  State  if  I  didn't  work  but  one 
hour.  We  would  charge  at  the  rate  of  $1.50  a  day,  while  the 
contractor  paid  forty-five  cents.  I  was  on  the  contract,  but  I 
done  nearly  all  the  State  carpenter  work.  I  done  the  repairs 
around  there ;  made  this  fencing  around  Captain  Howard's 
yard. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Cruson:  Was  this  illumination  the  same  night 
as  the  bells  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  The  bells  were  after  the  presidential  election. 
This  illumination  was  at  the  time,  I  think,  of  a  big  speaking 
here. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander  :     How  long  were  you  in  prison  ? 

A.     I  was  in  prison  twenty-six  months  and  one  day. 

Q.     Do  you  know  of  any  cases  of  extreme  punishment  there? 

A.  I  think  I  got  some  of  it  myself  which  I  think  I  didn't  de- 
serve ;  but  there  is  others  punished  by  guard  there  for  small  ot- 

7 — PRISON. 


98 

fenses.  There  was  a  fight  between  two  convicts  and  I  attempted 
to  separate  them.  There  were  seven  or  eight  of  us  reported  for 
that  (amongst  them  was  Lindsey)  without  having  any  chance,  to 
see  the  Warden.  We  lost  our  good  time  eight  days.  All  I 
tried  to  do  was  to  separate  them.  They  put  me  in  the  cage 
and  chained  me  up.  I  have  seen  Jamison,  a  guard,  knock 
men  down  there  and  kick  them  when  they  were  not  violating 
the  rules  at  all.  I  was  tied  up  at  cell  door,  handcuffed  with 
my  hands  pulled  through,  and  given  piece  of  corn  bread  and  a 
cup  of  water.  They  would  stand  me  on  my  feet,  but  I  have 
been  shot  in  the  leg,  and  I  was  compelled  to  hang  there  half  of 
the  time  with  my  weight  on  my  arms. 

Q.     Are  the  convicts  chained  up  there  in  cold  weather? 

A.     Oh,  yes. 

Q.  They  let  them  down  at  night  and  let  them  have  their 
coats  ? 

A.     Not  a  single  covering. 

Q.     Did  they  make  beds  for  them  to  sleep  on  ? 

A.  It  was  simply  lumber.  Right  on  the  floor  was  the  kind 
of  bed  I  had. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  person  being  kept  longer  than  one 
day? 

A.  I  have  known  men  kept  there  for  weeks  and  weeks. 
Jim  Storey  was  one. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Hobson  :'  What  if  you  had  picked  up  a  piece  of 
bread  from  some  other  man's  plate  ? 

A.  They  would  punish  you  if  it  was  somebody  else's  plate. 
I  was  reported  for  taking  a  smoothing  iron  from  the  carpenter 
shop,  and  I  was  not  working  there  at  the  time.  Dickey,  a 
trusty,  stole  it  and  took  it  up  to  a  colored  woman,  who  would 
give  him  some  money  for  it  and  he  could  get  some  tobacco. 
That  took  eight  days  good  time  away  from  me. 

(}.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  What  do  you  know  about  the 
Deputy  Warden  and  Warden  using"  provisions  of  the  prison  at 
their  own  houses? 

A.  It  was  a  regular  business.  The  bread  was  baked  every- 
day. The  garden  truck  was  furnished  to  both  places. 

Q.  What  kind  of  vegetables  did  the  convicts  get  from  the 
garden  ? 

A.     We  would  get  an  onion  or  a  tomato. 

Q.     What  kind  of  meat  did  you  generally  get ''. 


99 

A.  As  a  general  thing  it  was  very  poor  meat.  It  was  so 
poor  that  I  once  took  it  to  Captain  Craig.  He  had  another 
piece  put  on  the  plate,  but  it  was  the  same  kind.  I  then  in- 
formed the  captain  that  the  meat  was  spoiled. 

Q.     Did  you  ever  have  any  roast? 

A.  No,  I  never  had  a  bite  of  roast,  except  what  Captain 
Craig's  wife  gave  to  me  sometimes.  Yes,  I  got  a  piece  once  in 
the  hospital.  AVe  got  bacon  that  was  alive  with  maggots. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak  :  You  saw  the  beef  that  was  brought  in 
there  ? 

A.     It  was  very  poor  quality  of  beef. 

Q.     How  did  it  come  ? 

A.     Always  in  quarters  and  shanks. 

Q.  What  were  your  opportunities  for  seeing  this  beef  fre- 
(juently  ? 

A.  Just  as  good  as  yours  would  be.  There  was  no  restric- 
tions on  me  in  regard  to  that  matter. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander:     Tlie  beds  are  straw  beds'? 
'A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     How  often  are  they  filled  ?. 

A.     Once  a  year. 

Q.     Did  you  have  any  pillows? 

A.  ]^o,  sir ;  except  what  I  had  furnished  by  my  friends. 
That  was  in  '88  I  went  there.  My  sister  brought  my  pillow. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Osborn :  What  about  the  underclothing? 
Were  you  forced  to  buy  it  from  the  Warden  ? 

A.  I  got  my  underclothing  without  any  trouble  from  my 
sister. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  Did  you  have  a  broom  to  sweep  out 
the  cells? 

A.  I  had  very  small  one  ;  had  a  little  hand-broom.  When 
they  wore  out  they  never  thought  of  replacing  them. 

Q.     How  is  it  if  men  have  to  get  up  at  night? 

A.  They  have  little  bit  of  wooden  bucket  there  they  carry 
o.ut  every  morning. 

Q.     How  about  the  candles? 

A.  I  don't  think  we  had  candles  for  three  weeks,  and  we 
have  went  there  as  high  as  five  weeks  without  a  candle.  They 
were  very  poor  candles  ;  light  one  of  them  by  5  o'clock  and  by 
9  your  candle  would  be  about  burnt  up. 


100 

Q.  How  about  the  books;  did  you  get  them  whenever  you 
wanted  them? 

A.  No,  sir,  once  every  two  weeks,  and  then  you  had  to  be 
mighty  good.  They  would  come  around  and  call  over  names 
of  half  a  dozen  books  in  a  box,  and  if  there  is  none  that  suits 
you  you  go  without. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Hobson  :  Did  the  Chaplain  come  here  ? 

A.  The  Chaplain  would  come  around  the  shops  every  few 
days. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander  :  What  about  sick  men  having  to  go 
to  work  ? 

A.  There  was  a  man  there  had  to  work,  when  1  know  his 
operations  was  blood. 

Q.     Do  you  know  anything  about  men  being  overtasked? 

A.  That  was  nothing  uncommon  in  the  foundry;  it  was 
scandalous.  I  was  there  a  short  time,  and  I  had  rather  be  ex- 
cused and  go  to  that  cell-house. 

Q.     How  about  the  sick  being  taken  to  the  hospital  ? 

A.  I  was  sick,  hemorrhage  of  the  lungs;  was  in  hands  of 
doctor  for  nine  months,  and  in  that  time  in  the  hospital  not 
more  than  one  day;  hospital  patients  are  treated  nicely. 

Q.     What  cell  were  you  in  ? 

A.  I  was  in  the  old  cell-house.  A  man  had  better  beat  his 
work  than  locked  in  the  cell.  No  matter  how  cold  you  are, 
you  are  never  let  out  to  the  stove. 

Q.     Any  bed-bugs  in  the  cell  ? 

A.  I  never  seen  any  thing  but  bed-bugs.  There  never  was 
room  for  anything  else. 

Q.     How  about  the  crazy-house? 

A.  The  crazy-house  is  alive  witlj  rats.  It  is  worse  than  the 
hog  pen.  That,  is  where  they  put  unruly  prisoners  and  call 
them  crazy. 

Q.     Some  of  them  were  crazy  ? 

A.  A  good  many  of  them  went  in  there  and  almost  came  out 
crazy. 

Q.     Does  the  Chaplain  preach  on  Sunday? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  They  had  a  Sunday-school  for  a  little  while, 
and  then  Captain  Howard  stopped  it. 

Q.     Was  it  compulsory  ? 

A.     That  was  not  compulsory  at  all. 

Q.     What  was  the  average  attendance  at  the  Sunday-school? 


101 

A.  Thirty-five.  I  never  missed  a  S'atida'ywh i'le  I' was  Work- 
ing. Captain  Howard  stopped  that.  I  don't  know  just  why. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  any  prisoners  furnishing  any  one 
money  to  get  a  pardon  for  them,  the  Chaplain  for  instance? 

A.  I  know  Chaplain  Cain  made  a  trip  to  Indianapolis  for 
me,  and  did  not  charge  me  a  cent.  He  was  very  accommoda- 
ting. 

Q.     Did  he  ever  inquire  of  you  whether^ouhadany  money? 

A.  No,  sir.  He  inquired  of  my  family  and  condition.  He 
remarked  to  me  of  what  he  had  done  for  the  boys  there,  and 
that  there  ain't  one  out  of  ten  ever  thanks  him  for  it  when  they 
get  out. 

Q.     Do  the  guards  work  pretty  hard  or  not? 

A.  No,  sir.  The  guards  in  the  Prison  make  men  work  un- 
der contract,  and  get  benefit  of  it.  Jim  Kennedy  made  me 
work  for  Boot  and  Shoe  Company,  and  he  would  take  extra 
pair  of  shoes  to  his  children. 

Q.     Did  you  make  any  repairs  for  Captain  Howard  ? 

A.  I  made  repairs  while  working  for  Perin  &  Gaff  on  his 
private  property  that  he  rented,  just  back  of  the  prison.  I 
think  we  worked  out  there — Gerhardt  and  I  and  Dickens.  It 
was  two  or  three  days  apiece. 

Q.     Do  you  remember'the  dates  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     How  was  it  charged  ? 

A.     That  was  charged  up  to  the  State,  I  know. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  You  said  a  while  ago  that  you  was 
wounded.  Do  you  draw  a  pension  ? 

A.     No,  sir ;  I  was  in  the  Confederate  army. 

Q.     Can  you  read  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  *  I  get  one  book  every  two  weeks,  and  my 
sister  brought  me  the  Courier-Journal. 

Q.     Did  you  take  the  Jeffersonville  Times? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  I  subscribed  for  the  Jeffersonville  Times 
while  I  was  there. 

Q.     Are  there  many  copies  of  that  Times  taken  in  there  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  More  copies  of  that  paper  brought  in  than 
any  other. 

Q.     Who  owns  that  paper? 

A.  I  have  been  informed  that  Captain  Howard  owned  the 
Times. 


102 

•Q.  '  Wb;y  was  rliat  paper  taken  ? 

A.  They  subscribed  because  they  would  not  allow  any 
other  paper  in  there. 

Q.     A\rhat  was  the  subscription  price? 

A.  I  paid  seventy  cents  a  month;  thirty-five  cents  for  two 
weeks. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Osborn  :  You  spoke  of  meat  being  bad.  How 
were  your  other  supplies,  such  as  beans? 

A.  I  have  had  beans  set  before  me  so  full  of  these  black 
bugs  I  wouldn't  eat  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  about  his  furnishing  such  supplies  as 
these  that  he  bought  for  a  low  price  and  charged  the  State  the 
price  of  good  supplies  ? 

A.  I  don't  know,  except  from  what  information  I  got 
there,  that  these  things  were  bought  as  No.  1.  As  I  said,  I 
showed  some  meat  to  Captain  Craig,  and  he  told  me  to  show 
it  to  the  Warden.  I  did,  and  Captain  Howard  told  me  :  "That 
is  good  enough  for  you  or  any  other  convict,''  and  the  meat 
was  rotten. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Merry  weather,  being  first  duly  sworn,  testified  as 
follows: 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander:     Where  do  you  live  ? 

A.     In  this  city. 

Q.     What  is  your  occupation? 

A.     Attorney  at  law. 

Q.  What  connection  have  you  had  with  the  'Southern  State 
Prison? 

A.     I  was  Warden  for  four  years. 

Q.  What  firm  was  this  that  went  into  bankruptcy  owing 
the  prison  ? 

A.  The  Southwestern  Car  Company :  they  had  contract 
with  the  State  to  make  cars  for  several  years. 

Q.  The}7  went  into  bankruptcy,  and  what  was  the  portion 
received  from  the  Register  in  bankruptcy? 

A.  The  State  received  all  the  Register  allowed.  I  made  a 
claim  as  one  of  the  attorneys  of  the  Warden  for  $27,000,  as  my 
recollection  now  is,  but,  as  attorneys  frequently  do,  I  made  the 
account  as  large  as  possible.  I  thought  at  the  time  the  ac- 
count was  tiled  that  the  prison  was  entitled  to  about  $22,200  or 
$22,500.  They  tiled  offsets  and  counterclaim.  Their  offset 
was  that  they  had  furnished  materials  for  repairs  of  buildings, 


103 

and  their  counterclaim,  that  for  two  years  before  Col.  Shuler 
ceased  to  be  Warden  he  was  partially  paralyzed  and  the  prison 
was  under  less  discipline,  and  the  convicts  did  not  do  the 
amount  or  kind  of  work  that  their  contract  required.  Their 
counterclaim  was  allowed  to  some  extent  by  the  Register,  and 
the  amount  he  found  due  to  the  State  was  between  $7,000  and 
$8,000.  As  attorney  I  paid  the  witness  fees  and  attorneys' 
fees.  I  paid  over  to  Mr.  Howard,  after  paying  everything, 
$6,000  on  the  29th  of  May,  1879.  [Check  presented  and  copy 
herewith  attached,  marked  exhibit  "A.''] 

(,).  Have  you  examined  the  reports  the  Warden  has  made 
to  the  State  since  that  time,  and  what,  if  anything,  do  you 
know  of  his  having  charged  himself  with  having  received  that 
amount':' 

A.  At  the  request,  indirectly,  of  a  member  of  committee, 
four  or  five  years  ago,  I  made  an  examination.  I  found  noth- 
ing in  the  clerk's  accounts  from  May,  1879,  to  that  time  in 
reference  to  money,  I  find,  however,  in  Captain  Howard's  re- 
port for  1881,  in  which  he  says  that  the  amount  of  money  re- 
ceived from  car  works  had  been  passed  or  turned  in  to  the 
brick  account;  that  is  the  only  mention  I  find. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  any  conversation  with  Captain  How- 
ard about  it? 

A.  Not  until  last  Saturday.  He  asked  me  if  I  remembered 
the  amount.  I  said  1  did.  He  said  I  certainly  could  not  re- 
member the  amount — it  was  so  long  ago — and  he  said,  "  You 
can't  say  whether  it  was  four  or  six  thousand  dollars."  I  then 
told  him  I  had  the  check  and  would  produce  it  to  the  Com- 
mittee. I  did  not  show  it  to  Captain  Howard. 

Q.  What  do  you  know,  if  anything,  about  the  brick  ac- 
count? 

A.  I  know  nothing  of  that,  sir,  except  on  examination  of 
this  member  of  Committee  four  years  ago  I  found  the  Legis- 
lature authorized  the  manufacture' of  brick  by  the  convicts, 
and  to  the  best  of  my  recollection  that  it  fixed  the  amount  that 
should  be  expended  for  the  brick. 

Q.  What  was  done  about  the  matter  before  the  Committee 
four  years  ago? 

A.  A  member  of  the  Committee  came  to  me,  my  recol- 
lection is,  four  years  ago  and  inquired  in  reference  to  it,  and  I 
told  him,  and  showed  him  the  check.  I  had  it  in  my  safe.  He 


104 

said  I  would  be  called  before  the  Committee  the  next  day.  I 
never  was  called  before  the  Committee,  and  said  nothing  more 
about  it. 

Q.  About  what  was  the  probable  number  of  prisoners  dur- 
ing the  time  you  was  there  ? 

A.  I  can't  remember.  Don't  know  of  any  reason  why  there 
should  be  greater  or  less  number  than  at  present. 

Q.     How  many  guards  did  you  have  ?     v 

A.  I  had  fourteen.  I  got  along  pretty  well  with  them.  In 
summer  months  I  employed  two  extra  guards. 

Q.  Is  there  any  necessity  why  there  should  be  more  guards 
employed  now  than  then  ? 

A.  To  answer  that  I  should  have  to  go  through  the  shops 
and  see  what  is  done.  If  everything  is  done  on  the  floor,  like 
a  foundry,  one  guard  may  guard  seventy  or  eighty  men  at  work. 
If  the  work  was  setting  up  barrels,  behind  which  they  could 
hide,  it  would  require  a  greater  number.  It  would  depend 
very  greatly  upon  the  business  they  were  at. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  Do  you  know  whether  the  Warden  has 
ever  advertised  for  contracts  for  beef  and  other  supplies? 

A.     I  have  never  seen  any. 

Q.     Where  is  it  purchased? 

A.  His  beef  has  really  been  purchased  in  Louisville  all  the 
time  except  when  ice  or  flood  prevented  its  being  brought  over 
and  then  it  was  bought  here.  When  the  Auditing  Committee, 
of  which  Colonel  Emerson  was  chairman,  were  investigating 
claims  against  the  prison  that  had  been  contracted  by  Colonel 
Shuler,  and  some  contracted  by  Mr.  Howard,  Mr.  Duff,  the 
butcher  in  Louisville,  said  to  me  he  had  contracts  for  furnish- 
ing beef  to  the  hotels  and  steamboats  at  Louisville,  and  that  he 
furnished  the  best  parts  to  the  hotels  and  steamers  and  the  fore 
quarters  and  shanks  he  sent  over  here  to  the  prison.  This  con- 
versation took  place  in  the  prison. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  heard  of  these  supplies  going  to  the 
Warden's  house,  or  Deputy  Warden? 

A.  Guards  at  the  prison,  after  they  were  discharged,  have 
told  me  that  the  same  wagon  that  brought  the  beef  to  the 
prison  took  it  to  the  Deputy  Warden  and  the  Warden  and 
Storekeeper's  houses. 

Mr.  Fountain  W.  Poindexter,  being  first  duly  sworn,  testi- 
fied as  follows  : 


105 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     Where  do  you  reside  ? 
A.     In  Jeft'ersonville. 
Q.     What  is  your  business  ? 

A.     I  am  Assistant  Cashier  Citizens'  National  Bank. 
Q.     State  if  A.  J.  Howard,  Warden  of  Prison  South,  keeps 
his  account  in  your  bank. 
A.     Yes. 

Q.     How  long  has  he  had  it  there? 

A.  I  could  not  tell  the  number  of  years;  probably  during  all 
his  term  of  wardenship.  , 

Q.     State  if  he  keeps  bank  account  any  place  else. 
A.     I  do  not  know  of  any. 

Q.  Have  you  a  statement  of  his  account  on  Friday,  llth  of 
this  month  ? 

A.  I  have  it  on  Saturday,  the  12th,  taken  from  the  books 
on  the  morning  and  also  the  afternoon.  The  amount  he  is 
credited  with,  morning  of  February  12,  beginning  of  business, 
is  $7,875.49. 

Q.     What  was  it  the  day  before  ? 

A.  I  did  not  draw  oft'  balance  on  day  before.  I  put  down 
balance  here,  the  time  the  book  was  balanced  ;  $65  on  Feb- 
ruary 1,  brought  down  on  the  book. 

Q.  State  how  long  it  ran  at  that  before  he  deposited,  if  you 
can. 

A.  I  did  not  make  a  memorandum  of  exact  dates ;  I 
couldn't  say  without  examining. 

Q.  State  if  you  remember  when  the  Senate  Committee  was 
here. 

A.     My  recollection  is  that  they  were  here  last  Friday  and 
Saturday,  so  far  as  I  noticed  from  newspapers,  about  the  10th. 
Q.     State  if  Mr.  Howard  had  any  more  than  $65  at  that 
time  in  your  bank,  on  the  10th. 

A.     I  could  not  give  that  statement. 
Q.     When  was  that  difterence  deposited  to  his  credit  ? 
A.     That  was  on  the  llth   and  the  early  morning  of  the 
12th. 

Q.  State  if  you  have  any  knowledge  where  that  money  was 
obtained,  and  whose  money  it  was. 

A.     No,  sir ;  I  know  the  amount  was  placed  to  his  credit. 
Q.     Who  made  that  deposit  ? 


106 

A.     David  M.  Allen',  or  at  least  part  of  it.     Sometimes  he 
deposited  and  sometimes  the  Clerk. 

Q.  How  much  was  deposited  there  on  Friday  and  how 
much  on  Saturday? 

A.  My  impression  is  that  about  §6,500  was  deposited  early 
Saturday  morning.  Balance  was  to  his  credit  previous  to  that. 

Q.     State  who  Mr.  Allen  is. 

A.     I  understand   he  is  Steward  of  the  Penitentiary  South. 

Q.  State  if  you  know  where  that  money  came  from ;  did 
you  loan  it  out  of  your  bank? 

A.     No,  sir ;  I  have  no  knowledge  of  that. 

Q.  Did  anybody  borrow  any  money  from  your  bank  that 
day  or  the  day  before  ? 

A.     Not  that  I  know  of. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  Anybody  else  have  any  deposit 
there  of  about  that  amount  of  money  that  was  withdrawn r 
that  you  know  of? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Fatten  :  Can  you  state  whether  checks  or  cash 
was  deposited  ? 

A.     No,  sir  ;  I  caii  not.     We  count  everything  as  cash. 

Q.  Have  you  any  information  in  reference  to  how  that 
money  was  raised,  whether  it  was  Mr.  Howard's  individual 
money,  or  whether  or  not  he  raised  it  among  his  friends — bor- 
rowed it  for  the  purpose  of  making  that  deposit  and  exhibiting 
it  to  the  Committee  ? 

A.  He  had  no  individual  account  to  check  on  for  that 
amount. 

Q.  State  if  you  had  any  conversation  with  Mr.  Sparks,  do- 
ing business  here,  in  relation  to  raising  this  money. 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     With  Mr.  Lewman? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     With  Mr.  Allen? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Does  Mr.  Allen  keep  an  account  in  your  bank? 

A.  He  has  no  account  there.  He  has  had  a  small  account 
there  some  time  back,  but  he  has  no  account  there  now. 

Q.     Has  Mr.  Sparks  an  account  at  your  bank? 
A.     Nothing  beyond  firm  account.    Their  firm  does  business 
there  with  us. 


107 

Q.  Did  you  have  any  conversation  with  Mr.  Howard  about 
this  money? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  did  not. 

Q.     Was  this  a  special  deposit ? 

A.     No,  sir;  open  account. 

Q.  How  much  of  that  is  individual  account,  and  how  much 
as  Warden? 

A.     It  is  all  A.  J.  Howard's,  Warden. 

Q.     Has  he  checked  out  any  since  then  ? 

A.  To-day  he  checked  out  $3,333,  balance  of  the  account 
this  morning.  During  the  day  on  February  12,  $7,162.27  was 
checked  out. 

Q.  On  Saturday,  after  he  had  deposited  about  $6,500  in  the 
morning  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Who  was  the  drawer  of  the  check? 
"A.     A.  J.  Howard,  Warden. 

Q.     To  whom. 

A.  I  don't  know.  I  think  it  was  payable  to  bearer;  I  don't 
know.  In  fact,  I  was  at  dinner,  at  the  time  that  was  paid  out. 
Cashier  Mr.  Adams  paid  it. 

Q.     When  was  this  $3,000  deposited? 

A.  One  day  this  week.  He  made  deposit  of  about  $3,000 
within^the  last  three  or  four  days.  Checked  the  balance  out 
to-day. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Sinclair:      Did  he  check  out  any  yesterday? 

A.  There  may  have  come  in  a  small  check.  I  do  not  re- 
member. 

Q.     What  is  his  balance  now  ? 

A.  His  balance  now  is  practically  nothing.  Accurately  I 
think  it  is  12  cents. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten :  State  if  you  have  heretofore  always 
honored  his  checks. 

A.  We  have  always  honored  them  if  the  money  was  to  his 
credit,  but  not  permitted  him  to  overcheck.  I  will  qualify  that. 
When  it  is  one  or  two  hundred  dollars  over,  we  would  honor  it 
on  the  supposition  that  it  was  a  mistake,  but  we  would  notify 
him  immediately. 

Q.     Does  he  take  up  his  checks  ? 

A/    He  took  up  his  checks  on  February  1. 

Q.     How  did  they  read  ? 


108 

A.     I  think  most  of  his  checks  are  pay  his  office  or  bearer. 

Q.     How  much  has  he  checked  out  in  any  one  amount? 

A.     Seven  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  dollar?,  all 
in  one  check. 
.     Q.     Who  got  that  ? 

A.     I  could  not  say-. 

Q.  Can  you  furnish  the  information  from  your  bank?  Mr. 
Adams  can  tell,  can  he  not? 

A.     I  suppose  so. 

Mr.  Thomas  Sparks,  being  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows: 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     Where  do  you  reside  ? 

A.     In  Jetfersonville. 

Q.  State  if  you  know  anything  about  how  that  $7,000  was 
raised  by  the  Warden  of  State  Prison  South  about  10th,  llth 
or  12th  of  February  ? 

A.  I  know  nothing  at  all  about  it.  I  had  nothing  in  any 
way,  shape  or  form  to  do  with  it. 

Q.     You  have  no  knowledge  of  how  the  money  was  raised? 

A.     I  have  not,  sir. 

Mr.  John  E.  Cole,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Lives  in  Jefiersonville,  City  Marshal. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  What  do  you  know,  if  anything,  in  refer- 
ence to  any  money  being  raised  here  for  the  use  of  the  Warden 
at  the  time  the  Senate  Committee  was  here,  on  or  about  the 
10th,  llth  or  12th  of  this  month  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  in  regard  to  the  money  raising  only 
from  outside  parties  ;  don't  know  it  personally.  Of  course,  I 
heard  how  money  was  raised.  I  seen  Mr.  Huette  come  to  the 
City  Hall,  and  he  inquired  in  regard  to  a  bill  that  he  claimed 
the  State  owed  Dorsey.  Our  City  Clerk  was  acting  as  City 
Treasurer  at  the  time.  Our  City  Treasurer  is  in  Thomasville, 
Ga.  I  think  he  made  the  statement  to  me  that  he  owed  Mr. 
Dorsey  a  bill,  and  he  wanted  to  know  whether  Mr.  Burlin- 
game,  City  Clerk,  was  authorized  to  receive  the  money.  I  seen 
from  Mr.  Huette's  actions  that  he  was  considerably  worked  up, 
and  I  took  an  interest  to  see  what  I  could  do.  Well,  I  learned 
that  the  money  that  was  deposited  in  the  bank  to  balance  his 
account,  according  to  the  statement  he  made  to  the  Senate 
Committee,  was  put  up  by  Mr.  McCann.  He  is  the  man  that 
furnishes  the  coal  to  the  Prison,  and  is  one  of  Howard's  bonds- 


109 

men.  I  heard  of  several  others  that  had  put  up  the  money; 
on  the  best  of  my  belief,  Mr.  Allen.  I  seen  Mr.  Allen  go  to 
the  bank  and  get  a  sack  of  money,  and,  in  conversation  with 
him,  he  said  he  was  going  to  pay  the  guards  for  four  months' 
wages.  I  heard  conversation  between  David  Allen  and  Cap- 
tain Craig.  Captain  Craig  asked  him  what  kind  of  a  Commit- 
tee he  had,  and  he  said  :  "  A  s — n  of  a  b h  ot  a  Committee. 

They  had  me  on  the  stand  for  three  hours.''  That  was  one 
day  last  week,  either  Thursday  or  Friday  evening. 

Q.     This  man,  Allen,  what  is  his  wealth  ? 

A.     I  guess  between  $7,000  and  $8,000. 

Q.  State  whether  at  any  time  the  employes  of  the  Prison, 
with  others,  were  in  the  habit  of  going  off  on  junketing  tours, 
and  describe  it. 

A.  It  is  customary  to  go  on  fishing  tours  twice  a  year,  Cap- 
tain Craig,  Deputy  Warden,  Dave  Allen,  steward,  Mr.  Samuel 
H.  Perm,  Mr.  Burlingame,  myself  and  others  being  of  the 
party.  The  last  time  we  went  out,  the  third  time,  I  went  with 
them.  Captain  Allen  was  making  his  settlement,  and  I  says 
to  him  :  "  Captain,  I'm  tired  sponging  off'  you,"  or  something 
to  that  effect;  "I  want  to  pay  my  proportion,  I  and  Mr.  Bur- 
lingame ;  we  don't  want  you  to  share  all  this  expense,"  and  in 

reply  to  it  he  told  me  to  "  Go  to  h — 1 ;  you  shan't  pay  a  d n 

cent  of  it,"  and  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  belief  he 
said,  u  The  State  pays  for  this,"  but  I  would  not  want  to  swear 
that  he  used  the  words,  "  The  State  pays  for  this.'" 

Q.     Where  did  he  get  the  supplies? 

A.  Allen  furnished  these  supplies  from  Mr.  Aiken's  gro- 
cery ;  he  buys  provisions  for  the  prison  from  Mr.  Aiken. 

Q.     State  what  kind  of  a  party  it  was. 

A.  We  camped  out  with  two  tents — a  commissary  tent  and 
a  sleeping  department. 

Q.     State  how  many  blankets  you  had  in  the  party. 

A.  Captain  Allen  said  we  had  a  hundred  pair  of  blanketsto 
keep  us  warm  ;  that  they  came  from  the  prison. 

Q.     How  many  were  there  in  the  party  ? 

A.  In  going  down  about  eight  of  us  belonged  to  the  fish- 
ing party,  but  we  had  as  many  as  thirty-six  people  in  camp 
eating  and  sleeping. 

Q.     What  was  bought  from  Aiken  &  Co.? 

A.     Ham,  breakfast  bacon,  eggs  and  butter. 


110 

<j.     What  would  be  the  probable  expense  of  the  trip? 

A.  We  never  stayed  less  than  eight  days  ;  had  six  or  seven 
gallons  good  whisky ;  probable  cost  would  be  about  $75,  in- 
cluding railroad  fare. 

Q.     Who  paid  the  freight  bill  ? 

A.  It  was  always  paid  by  Captain  Allen  ;  the  goods  were 
carted  by  the  prison  team  to  New  Albany  Air  Line  Depot  and 
billed  from  there. 

Mr.  John  Craig,  having  been  duly  sworn, testified  as  follows: 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     What  is  your  occupation  ''. 

A.  At  present  occupied  as  Superintendent  of  the  Quarter- 
master's Depot  at  this  place.  For  eleven  years  was  Deputy 
Warden  Prison  South. 

Q.  State  if  you  know  anything  about  financial  transactions 
that  happened  two  years  ago,  about  the  time  Mr.  Howard  was 
re-elected  Warden,  and  time  that  visiting  committee  of  the 
Legislature  came  down  here,  in  reference  to  raising  $3,000  in 
behalf  of  the  Warden? 

A.  I  could  not  answer  what  the  money  was  raised  tor,  but. 
I  know  I,  with  other  gentlemen,  indorsed  a  note  for  $3,000. 

Q.  State  whether  or  not  you  know  it  was  for  the  purpose 
of  making  up  the  balance  of  the  Warden's  account  to  present 
before  the  committee  ? 

A.  That  I  don't  know.  I  know  the  money  was  raised  for 
the  use  of  the  Warden,  but  for  what  purpose  I  do  not  know. 

Q.     Did  you  have  any  conversation  with  him  about  it  ? 

A.  I  never  had  a  conversation  with  him  about  that.  He 
did  not  ask  me  to  go  on  the  note.  Another  gentleman  and 
Mr.  Allen,  the  Steward,  presented  the  note.  He  said  he 
wanted  to  raise  $3,000  the  Warden  wanted  to  use,  and  he 
asked  me  to  go  on  the  note. 

Q.  In  connection  with  that,  didn't  you  know  from  his  state- 
ment that  the  money  was  for  the  purpose  of  balancing  his  ac- 
count. 

A.     I  did  not  know. 

Q.     What  is  your  impression  '{ 

A.     My  best  impression  was  that  was  what  it  was  for. 

Q.     Is  that  note  paid  'i 

A.     Not  entirely.     I  think  about  half  has  been  paid. 

Q.     Who  was  the  note  given  to  ? 

A.     A  little  savings  loan  association  here  in  town. 


Ill 

Q.  I  will  ask  if  you  heard  these  rumors  in  reference  to  your 
candidacy  for  Warden  of  the  Prison  two  years  ago,  in  which 
you  have  been  charged  with  offering  to  Directors  something 
like  $8,000  for  your  election  ? 

A.     I  never  heard  it  until  recently. 

Q.  State  whether  or  not  at  that  time,  or  any  time  subsequent 
or  since,  did  you  have  any  conversation  with  the  Directors,  or 
ever  have  any  proposition  made  to  them  by  yonr  knowledger 
for  the  purpose  of  electing  you  Warden. 

A.  No  conversation  on  that  subject  ever  occurred  between 
myself  or  the  Directors. 

Q.  Did  any  of  your  friends  communicate  between  you  and 
them,  with  your  knowledge  and  consent  ? 

A.  .No,  sir,  not  with  my  knowledge  and  consent.  I  want 
to  say  that  I  wrote  a  letter  to  Dr.  Hunter,  who  resided  at  Law- 
renceburg,  and  was  Director  of  the  Prison  at  that  time.  On 
_the  eve  of  the  election  of  the  Warden,  I  wrote  to  him  on  the 
subject  of  my  candidacy  for  the  position  of  Warden,  and  I 
made  the  distinct  and  definite  proposition  to  him  that  I  would 
not  be  a  candidate  under  any  circumstances  if  Captain  Howard 
was  a  candidate.  From  my  position  there  and  relation  with 
Captain  Howard,  I  did  not  feel  that  I  could  enter  the  field 
against  him. 

Q.  You  was  acting  as  Deputy  Warden  at  the  time  of  the 
last  election  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  State  why  it  was  there  was  a  delay  in  that  election,  if 
you  know. 

A.  I  don't  know,  sir.  I  did  not  know  there  was  a  post- 
ponement. 

Q.  I  will  ask  if  you  was  not  familiar  with  the  report  as  to 
how  that  election  occurred.  Was  it  not  common  report  how  it 
was  done  ? 

A.     I  do  not  remember  it  now. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  telegrams  sent  to  Dr.  Norvell  about 
that  time,  or  before  the  election  ? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  the  report  about  purchasing  about 
$4,000  worth  of  corn  ? 

A.  I  heard  that.  I  think  within  a  year  or  eight  or  nine- 
months  ago.  1  heard  some  guard  or  somebody  connected  with 


112 

the  prison  repeat  it  as  having  come  from  a  young  hospital 
steward  named  Dr.  MeFadden. 

Q.     Why  didn't  he  stay  at  the  prison  ? 

A.  Well,  I  think  he  was  dismissed  by  the  Warden  for  some 
dereliction  of  duty.  I  know  he  was  not  performing  his  duties 
in  a  manner  that  suited  the  Warden. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  What  do  you  know  about  con- 
tractors paying  bonus  to  the  directors  or  Warden  for  the  pur- 
pose of  getting  contracts  ? 

A.     I  know  nothing  whatever. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Osborn  :  Do  you  know  whether  or  not  the 
Warden  has  advertised  for  bids  before  letting  contracts  for 
supplies? 

A.  I  never  saw  an  advertisement  for  supplies.  I  could  not 
say  that  he  has  not  done  so,  but  I  never  saw  an  advertise- 
ment published. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  Did  he  advertise  for  bids  on  con- 
tracts ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  always.  That  is,  I  believe  always.  I  have 
seen  those  advertisements  frequently. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     Who  does  the  purchasing  of  supplies? 

A.  The  Warden.  He  is  presumed  to  do  it,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  Clerk? 

Q.  Does»he  ever  have  his  book-keeper  make  out  requisition 
or  estimate  for  provisions  ? 

A.     I  don't  know  that  he  does. 

Q.     How  does  he  purchase  it,  in  bulk  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir.  Buy  a  crop  of  potatoes,  two  or  three  hundred 
barrels  of  potatoes.  Get  a  contract  for  meat,  five  thousand 
pounds  of  bulk  meat,  fifty  barrels  of  beans. 

Q.  Now,  suppose  he  buy  a  lot  of  bulk  meat,  what  facilities 
have  you  for  taking  care  of  it  ? 

A.  They  had  several  thousand  pounds  together  there  at  one 
time.  Had  swinging  platform  so  that  the  vermin  would  not 
reach  it,  and  dry  salted  it. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Hobson  :     What  do  they  buy  corn  for? 

A.     To  make  bread  and  hominy. 

Q.     Where  do  they  grind  the  corn? 

A.     In  the  prison  mill. 

Q.  At  the  time  you  was  Deputy  Warden  there,  did  they 
bolt  their  meal  in  the  mill.  Where  is  the  meal  bolted,  or  is  it 
bolted  at  all  ? 


113 

» 

A.     If  it  is  bolted  at  all,  it  is  in  the  mill,  I  think. 

Q.     Do  you  know  whether  the  meal  was  bolted  ? 

A.     I  could  not  say  positively,  but  think  it  was. 

Q.     Have  you  ever  eaten  any  of  the  bread  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  Do  you  think  that  is  bolted  meal  or  not?  [Showing  sam- 
ple bread.] 

A.  I  would  not  call  that  bolted  meal,  but  it  resembles  very 
closely  the  kind  of  bread  we  have  there.  I  w,ould  not  call  that 
bolted  meal  for  commercial  purposes.  It  is  bolted  in  a  man- 
ner. The  husks  are  taken  out  of  it. 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  much  feed  came  away  from  that  mill 
that  was  fed  to  the  cattle  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  do  not. 

Q.     How  many  cattle  are  kept  there  ? 

A.  I  suppose,  altogether,  about  five  or  six  head  at  a  time. 
The  State  don't  own  any  cows.  They  own  some  horses  ami 
mules. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  What  do  you  do  with  the  slops  from 
the  prison  ? 

A.  The  slops  were  fed  to  hogs  owned  by  the  Warden  when 
there  were  any  hogs  at  all,  and  if  not,  hauled  out  and  wasted. 

Q.  Where  are  the  slops  going  now  ? 

A.  I  don't  know,  sir.  There  was  a  vat  made  outside  to  re- 
ceive slof)s.  They  were  poured  through  a  funnel  in  the  wall 
into  a  vat. 

Q.  What  kind  of  a  place  does  that  create  out  there — on 
drainage? 

A.  It  is  riot  wasted  in  that  way.  When  it  is  hauled  out  for 
waste  it  is  taken  out  to  some  place  where  it  will  wash.  Some- 
times we  buried  the  slops. 

Q.     Could  not  these  slops  be  utilized  in  some  way  ? 

A.  Well,  maybe;  four  years  ago,  \\jhen  the  Investigating 
Committee  was  here,  the  question  was  raised  about  slops,  and 
the  Warden  and  the  Board  of  Directors  thought  they  would 
offer  slops  for  sale,  and  they  advertised  for  bids,  I  think,  thirty 
days,  and  in  the  meantime  slop  was  being  wasted  and  buried, 
and  no  bid  was  made.  The  slops  was  wasted  for  three  or  four 
months.  Finally,  the  Warden  bought  some  hogs  and  fed  them 
with  it. 

8 — PKISON. 


114       . 

Q.  By  Mr.  Hobson:  What  do  they  do  with  the  empty 
barrels  ? 

A.     I  do  not  know,  sir. 

Q.     About  how  many  accumulate  in  a  day  or  week? 

A.  I  suppose  it  would  average  about  one  barrel  a  day — 
twenty-five  or  thirty  a  month.  The  business  of  the  prison  in  the 
office,  and  the  conducting  of  its  finances  and  accounts  and  its 
supplies,  I  had  nothing  to  do  with.  I  was  simply  expected 
to  look  after  the  discipline  of  the  prison,  and  to  see  that  con- 
victs were  properly  cared  for,  that  they  performed  their  workr 
seeing  that  they  behave  themselves,  and  that  their  relations 
with  contractors  were  legitimate  and  all  right.  I  had  no  busi- 
ness in  the  prison  office,  except  I  was  called  in  for  something. 
Only  book  I  handled  was  convict  register. 

Q.  You  don't  think  it  possible  or  probable  for  a  man  to 
have  been  reported  sick,  and  at  the  same  time  at  work  in  the 
shop? 

A.  There  would  be  no  object  in  reporting  him  sick.  If  he 
was  sick,  all  he  had  to  do  was  to  go  to  cell-house  and  lie  down. 

Q.  Could  not  he  have  been  reported  sick  and  kept  in  shop 
working  all  day  at  outside  work? 

A.  If  he  was  disposed  to  be  a  thief,  I  suppose  he  could  find 
his  way  of  doing  it,  but  every  foreman  in  the  shop  would  know 
all  about  it.  There  are  daily  reports  by  the  guard,  giving 
number  of  men  under  guard,  number  of  sick,  giving  reason 
why  men  are  not  employed,  etc. 

Q.  If  he  was  to  tell  you  he  was  reported  sick  and  was  at 
work,  and  asked  the  Doctor  why  he  was  reported  sick  and 
said:  "  I  am  not  sick,"  and  the  Doctor  said:  "Well,  you  know 
why,"  would  you  believe  it  as  the  truth  ? 

A.     No.  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  Is  the  Deputy  Warden  required  to- 
make  a  report  in  the  morning  of  the  number  of  sick  and  the 
men  detailed  for  labor? 

A.  The  report  of  the  sick  is  made  from  the  hospital  every 
morning  and  every  evening.  The  guard  in  each  shop  renders 
report  on  printed  form  of  number  of  men  employed  on  con- 
tract, and  if  all  are  not  there,  he  explains  the  cause.  That  is 
made  directly  to  the  Clerk. 

Q.  Suppose  the  guard  was  derelict  in  his  duty  and  failed  to 
do  that  or  make  false  report,  how  is  it  tested? 


115 

A.  I  don't  know  that  there  is  any  systematic  test  made  of 
it,  but  I  say  it  would  be  impossible  to  do  a  thing  like  that  with 
any  convict. 

Q.  Supposing  guard  makes  report  of  so  many  men,  suppose 
some  man  is  off  duty  and  he  wants  to  shield  him,  how  would 
you  know  that  all  your  men  were  not  on  duty  unless  you  com- 
pared the  number  of  men  at  work  and  the  number  in  the  hos- 
pital ? 

A.  The  Warden  and  Clerk  are  supposed  to  do  this.  They 
get  these  .statements. 

Q.  What  becomes  of  the  reserves,  the  old,  those  unable  to 
work — how  is  that  accounted  for? 

A.  That  is  accounted  for  on  the  report  similar  to  what  the 
shop  guards  make,  but  made  out  specially  for  cell  house  guard. 
By  Mr.  llobson  : 

Q.     It  seems  to  me  you  keep  these  men  in  the  cell  too  much. 

What  is  the  reason  for  that  ? 

% 

A.  Well,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say  it  is  actually  necessary, 
but  I  think  lounging  around  the  shops  is  detrimental  to  good 
discipline.  There  was  a  time,  after  the  failure  of  the  South- 
western Car  Company,  when  all  convicts  were  idle  for  several 
months;  then  we  herded  them  in  the  shops  with  several  guards 
over  them. 

<»>.  State  how  many  guards  are  necessary  .and  have  been 
kept. 

A.  1  can't  say  exactly,  but  my  recollection  is  that  the  aver- 
age during  the  number  of  years  that  I  was  there  would  be 
about  30. 

Q.     State  how  these  guards  are  selected. 

A.     I  do  not  know  ;  I  know  thev  come  on  the  recommeuda- 

7    i  *• 

tion  of  Directors  and  others,  but  I  do  not  know  what  influ- 
ences are  used.     The  Warden  has  the  power  of  appointment. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  that  the  guards  claimed  that  they 
were  charged  a  fee  or  bonus  for  their  place  ? 

A.     Xever  heard  an  intimation  of  that  sort. 

Q.  If  there  was  such  a  thing,  I  -suppose  that  would  be  made 
known  when  the  guard  was  discharged. 

A.     Yes,  sir;  if  it  was  a  violation  of  contract  I  presume  the 
guard  would  squeal. 
Mr.  L.  F.  Cain,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows  : 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  State  what  relation  you  have  sustained 
to  this  Prison. 


no 

A.  I  was  moral  instructor  from  14th  of  July,  1883,  to  15th 
of  September,  1886. 

Q.  In  our  investigation  we  find  that  a  convict  named  Sand- 
ers has  paid  you  $10  in  money  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Will  you  state  just  what  that  was  for  ? 

A.  I  don't  remember  just  exactly  the  date  Mr.  Sunders  paid 
me  $10.  I  did  some  work  as  attorney — made  a  trip,  I  believe,  to 
his  home  to  fix  up  some  pension  papers,  etc.  I  was  Hospital 
Steward  and  Physician  for  six  months,  and  during  the  time  I 
was  here  I  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  bar.  The  money 
was  not  paid  to  me  at  the  time  I  was  Chaplain. 

Q.  State  if  you  were  here  two  years  ago,  when  the  Warden 
was  re-elected,  and  if  you  have  any  knowledge  of  any  corrupt 
means  being  used  in  that  connection. 

A.  Well,  I  saw  no  money  change  hands  in  that  election  of 
Warden.  I  have  no  positive  knowledge  of  money  changing 
hands. 

Q.  You  have  no  knowledge  of  your  own,  have  you  any 
knowledge  of  any  corrupt  transaction? 

A.  I  have  heard  it,  of  course,  currently  reported  that  money 
was  used.  The  nearest  positive  information  is  such  as  I  have 
given  to  a  member  of  this  Committee.  I  believe  that  Dr.. 
Hunter  told  me  himself. 

Q.     Who  was  Dr.  Hunter  ? 

A.     He  was  at  that  time  one  of  the  Prison  Directors. 

Q.     Now  state  what  he  said  to  you. 

A.  I  think  he  said  it  to  me  himself.  I  am  not  sure  whether 
he  said  it  or  whether  1  got  it  second-hand,  but  I  am  of  the  im- 
pression that  he  told  me  himself,  that  a  gentleman  came  into- 
his  office  and  asked  him  if  h*-  would  cast  his  vote  for  a  gentle- 
man for  Warden  for  the  consideration  of  $8,500.  He  told  him 
he  was  not  that  kind  of  man;  if  that  was  his  business,  he  could 
leave  his  office.  He  offered  the  money  in  behalf  of  Captain 
Craig,  who  was  then  Deputy  Warden. 

Q.  Have  you  any  know-ledge  of  corrupt  practices  or  at- 
tempted practices  between  Mr.  Howard  and  the  Directors  ? 

A.     None,  save  rumor. 

Q.     What  kind  of  a  rumor  do  you  mean  ? 

A.     Just  simply  a  general  report. 


117 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  State  if  you  did  not  write  a  book 
on  the  prison  and  its  management  when  you  went  out. 

A.  I  have  a  book  now,  pretty  nearly  ready  for  the  press,  in 
regard  to  the  State  Prison,  concerning  the  treatment  of  con- 
victs, and  the  weak  places  in  the  law,  as  I  regard  it,  as  to  the 
moral  instructor,  the  way  he  is  hampered. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  Do  you  remember  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Goodwin  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     When  was  he  discharged  ? 

A.     Pretty  soon  after  Governor  Gray's  administration  began. 

Q.     Did  you  do  anything  in  getting  his  discharge  ? 

A.  He  asked  me  to  work  for  him.  I  told  him  I  would  if  I 
could  do  any  good.  He  gave  me  $15.  I  made  three  trips  for 
him  to  Indianapolis,  and  went  to  New  Castle  and  disposed  of 
his  property  for  him.  His  wife  paid  me  the  $15.  Goodwin 
said  when  he  received  his  pardon  he  would  settle  with  me.  It 
cost  me  $65  in  expenses.  I  worked  persistently  to  receive  the 
pardon  for  him  because  I  thought  he  needed  it.  When  he  was 
pardoned  I  supposed  he  would  come  and  see  me.  As  he  did 
not,  I  went  down  to  his  residence,  but  found  nobody  at  home 
at  Mr.  Goodwin's,  and  learned  that  he  had  gone  West. 

Q.     At  what  time  was  that  ? 

A.  Part  of  the  work  was  done  just  before  Governor  Porter 
left. 

Q.     You  did  the  work  while  you  was  Chaplain  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir;  I  did. 

Q.  State  if  that  was  a  custom  of  yours,  while  you  were 
Chaplain,  to  be  using  your  influence  in  getting  pardons? 

A.  I  have  assisted  a  good  many.  I  got  up  briefs  of  the 
cases,  and  would  also  get  petitions,  where  the  convicts  were 
not  able  to  employ  an  attorney.  In  all,  I  did  not  receive  more 
than  $50  to  $65  from  them. 

Q.     Did  you  usually  receive  pay  for  it  ? 

A.  Sometimes  I  did,  and  sometimes  I  did  not.  In  the  ma- 
jority of  cases  they  were  not  able  to  pay,  and  that  was  the  rea- 
son I  assisted  them. 

Q.  State  if  you  did  not  intend  to  publish  your  book  right 
away  after  you  left  the  prison. 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Why  didn't  you  do  it? 


118 

A.  I  intended  at  that  time  to  get  the  book  out  before  the 
election  in  pamphlet  form,  but  the  pressure  of  the  work  when 
I  went  to  Salem  was  such  I  could  not  possibly  get  it  out  before 
the  election.  Then  I  decided  to  get  it  out  in  book  form.  That 
was  the  only  reason  of  that,  sir. 

Q.  State  whether  or  not  you  ever  received  or  were  offered 
a  consideration  from  the  authorities  here  not  to  publish  that 
book  ? 

A.  Never  ottered  a  cent.  It  never  was  mentioned  to  me  by 
any  officer  of  this  Institution,  except  the  physician,  and  he 
and  I  are  good  friends.  He  said  he  wanted  a  copy  of  the  book, 
and  I  asked  him  for  his  photograph  to  be  put  in  the  book.  I 
received  a  present  a  short  time  after  I  left  here,  as  was  always 
the  custom  with  Chaplains.  I  received  a  gold  watch,  charm 
and  cane. 

Q.     Bv  Mr.   Alexander:     This  book  had   reference   to  the 

*/ 

moral  instructor  being  hampered  by  the  Warden  or  Directors; 
in  what  respect? 

A.  No,  he  is  hampered  by  the  State  laws.  The  Chaplain, 
under  the  law,  can  not  enter  this  institution  without  permis-" 
sion  from  the  Warden.  He  has  no  more  right  than  a  convict 
has.  I  had  no  right  to  visit  a  shop  without  special  permission 
from  the  Warden.  I  oft'ered  to  teach  in  school  if  they  would 
furnish  the  men,  but  there  is  no  place  where  school  could  be 
taught.  I  never  had  the  men  or  received  the  men  in  a  place 
where  I  could  teach.  1  have  no  authority  to  go  into  a  cell.  It 
simply  puts  us  here  to  do  what  the  Warden  and  Directors  al- 
low, and  nothing  else. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Pleak :  Is  there  any  rule  of  the  Prison  prevent- 
ing that? 

A.  The  rule  of  the  Prison  has  always  been  that  the  Chap- 
lain could  have  access  to  the  hospital  and  go  around  the  Prison 
ground,  but  there  never  was  a  rule  which  permitted  the  Chap- 
lain to  take  a  man  away  from  his  work.  The  ruling  is  always 
that  the  Chaplain  had  no  right  to  enter  the  institution.  Of 
course,  I  came  in  and  out  pretty  much  as  I  pleased. 

Q.     You  were  never  prevented  from  going  in? 

A.  No,  sir.  The  law  provides  that  the  Chaplain  shall  buy 
new  books.  I  purchased  about  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
dollars'  worth  of  books  out  of  the  library  fund  while  I  was 
here.  I  was  here  three  years  and  three  months. 


119 

'   -Q.     Did  that  exhaust  the  fund? 

A.  Oh  no  ;  we  had  during  the  Exposition  500  or  600  visitors 
a  day. 

;  Q.     By  Mr.  Sinclair:    Strike  an  average  as  to  the  number  of 
paying  visitors. 

A.  The  year  I  was  here  was  during  the  Exposition.  I 
would  put  that  in  at  ten  a  day.  I  put  that  as  a  minimum 
rough  guess. 

Q.     Can  you  suggest  any  needed  improvements '! 

A.  I  have  preached  in  that  chapel  when  the  men  were 
actually  in  a  suffering  condition  because  of  the  cold  in  the 
winter  time.  I  have  preached  in  the  summer  time  when  I  have 
had  as  high  as  live  men  prostrated  by  the  heat  because  of  the 
iron  roof. 

George  W.  Miller,  being  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows  : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     Where  do  you  reside? 

A.     Martinsville. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  resided  there? 

A.     Since  '73. 

Q.     Where  did  you  reside  before  that  time. 

A.     1  was  born  and  raised  in  Hendricks  County. 

Q.  State  if  you  are  acquainted  with  Mr.  A.  J.  Howard, 
Warden  of  the  Penitentiary  South  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     How  long  have  you  known  him  ? 

A.     I  first  met  Mr.  Howard  on  the   8th  day  or  March,  1883. 

Q.     Under  what  circumstances  ? 

A.  I  was  sentenced  to  the  Southern  Prison  to  serve  a  term 
for  three  years;  was  there  twenty-eight  months. 

Q.     What  was  the  charge  against  you  ? 

A.  Procuring  an  abortion.  I  was  afterward  pardoned  out 
by  the  Governor. 

<i.     State  if  you  was  in  and  about  the  office  at  the  Prison  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir;  I  had  a  great  deal  of  liberty  there. 

Q.  State  if  you  remember  the  time  when  the  Warden  was 
re-elected  ? 

A.     Y'es,  quite  well. 

Q.     Do  you  know  anything  about  that  transaction  ? 

A.  As  I  heard  it  from  an  officer  of  the  Prison.  Although 
I  had  a  great  deal  of  privilege,  personally  the  things  I  am  go- 
ing to  relate  I  don't  know,  except  as  I  got  them  from  one  of  the 


120 

officers  of  the  institution.  He  told  me  one  night ;  the  Hospital 
Steward,  by  name,  John  C.  McFaddeu.  He  came  there  after  the 
death  of  Dr.  Jesse  McClure  and  took  his  place.  One  night  he 
took  me  out  after  office  hours  and  after  the  lights  were  blown 
out,  and  all  should  have  been  abed.  I  was  chief  nurse  in  the 
sick  ward  of  the  Hospital  Department,  and  this  McFadden 
took  me  out  into  his  room,  unlocked  the  doors  contrary  to 
rules,  and  took  me  out  there.  He  had  a  jug  of  whisky  out 
there  and  we  got  a  little  exhilerated.  One  of  the  night  guards 
came  up  and  we  had  a  general  good  time ;  had  a  lunch  and 
smoke. 

Q.     Was  that  outside  of  the  prison  ? 

A.  It  was  in  a  room  adjoining  the  hospital  department,  not 
outside  of  the  walls.  While  we  were  drinking  out  there,  this 
question  came  up,  not  only  once,  buta  number  of  times,  as  to  how 
Howard  was  re-elected,  and  McFadden  and  I  talked  about  how 
it  happened,  how  a  man  of  his  reputation  ever  happened  to  be 
re-elected.  McFadden  says:  "I  can  tell  you  all  about  it.  I 
was  a  ward  of  Senator  William  Raum,  of  Evansville,  and  was 
in  his  office  a  great  deal,  studied  medicine  there,  graduated 
there,  and  once  while  in  his  office  Raum  told  me  to  take  a  dis- 
patch over  to  the  telegraph  office  and  send  it,  and  that  dipatch 
read:  '  Dr.  H.  H.  Norvell,  Bloomfield,  Greene  County:  Sir — 
If  you  have  concluded  to  let  me  have  your  corn  draw  on  me 
for  four  thousand  dollars.'  He  said  the  dispatch  came  immedi- 
ately back  and  he  carried  it  to  Senator  Raum.  'I  have  drawn 
on  you  this  day  for  four  thousand  dollars.  H.  B.  Norvell, 
Bloomfield,  Greene  County.'  He  said  that  Billy  Raum  threw 
up  his  hands  and  laughed,  and  said:  'Jack  Howard  is  the 
next  Warden  of  the  Southern  Penitentiary.'  I  asked  him 
what  'corn'  meant?  He  said  :  'Never  an  ear  of  corn  passed 
between  them.  He  was  the  man  who  negotiated  for  Norvell's 
vote.  He  stood  between  Norvell  and  Howard,  and  he  negoti- 
ated with  this  man  Norvell  for  Howard  for  the  next  Warden.'  : 
I  told  Howard  about  it  afterward  myself,  while  I  was  a  pris- 
oner, and  Howard  told  me  "everything  was  fair  in  war  and 
politics." 

Q.     Proceed  with  your  statement. 

A.  Howard  told  me  that  W.  D.  H.  Hunter,  another  one  of 
the  Directors,  was  a  stubborn  fellow,  and  had  been  offered  a 
round  sum  to  vote  against  him,  and  that  he  would  not  vote 


121 

against  him  nor  for  him,  from  the  fact  that  he  had  a  man  of 
his  own  he  wanted  to  elect  as  Warden,  and  Hunter  would  not 
do  anything  only  stick  to  his  own  man,  and  h'e  was  mad  be- 
cause Norvell  changed  from  his  own  man  to  Howard,  and  that 
Dr.  Hunter  left  in  disgust,  would  not  stay  any  longer.  Major 
Finney,  a  Republican,  was  a  Director  at  that  time,  and  I  think 
went  out  that  day  or  the  next.  At  any  rate,  he  remained  Di- 
rector just  long  enough  to  vote  for  Howard,  and  it  is  currently 
reported  that  he  received  $2,000  for  his  vote. 

Q.     Who  reported  it? 

A.  There  was  a  convict  in  the  penitentiary  by  the  name  of 
Ignatius  Buchanan,  to  whom  the  guards  gave  every  confi- 
dence— told  him  more,  probably,  than  they  would  tell  any  free 
man  in  the  town  ;  in  fact,  he  knew  everything  that  passed 
on  the  outside,  and  Buchanan  told  me  that  the  guards  gave 
him  to  understand  that  Finney  got  $2,000  for  his  vote,  and  it 
was  generally  conceded.  Oh,  well,  the  question  as  to  the  War- 
den's sell  was  never  questioned;  it  was  conceded  there  by 
everybody. 

Q.  What  do  you  mean  by  saying  the  report  was  never  ques- 
tioned ? 

A.  We  always  wanted  to  know  what  authority  there  was 
for  a  report  first,  and  Buchanan  said  a  guard  told  him,  and 
that  settled  it. 

Q.  How  did  the  guard  come  into  the  confidence  with  these 
men? 

A.  We  did  not  know  anything  about  that,  but  there  was 
Mr.  Cooper  and  Mr.  Jamison ;  in  fact,  there  was  not  a  guard 
but  he  was  specially  confidential  with  Buchanan  ;  they  brought 
him  a  bottle  of  whisky  nearly  every  day,  contrary  to  rules. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  day  on  which  this  election  took 
place  ? 

A.     No,  I  could  not  give  the  day. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  any  other  report  only  this  from  Mc- 
Fadden  as  to  the  telegrams  between  Senator  Raum  and  Nor- 
vell? 

A.     That  is  all. 

Q.     Was  that  the  first  time  you  heard  it  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir  ;  that  was  the  first  rumor. 

Q.     And  from  McFadden's  statement  it  became  a  rumor  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir.     I  asked  Howard  about  it,  and  he  said  :  "Every- 


122 

thing  was  fair  in  war  and  politics."  He  said  it  in  a  jocular 
manner. 

Q.  Don't  yo"U  suppose  if  it  was  a  fact  that  he  did  that,  and 
you  spoke  to  him  about  it,  that  he  would  have  been  surprised 
and  wonder  how  you  knew  it? 

A.  He  asked  me  how  I  knew  it.  I  told  him  it  came  from 
McFadden.  I  said:  "If  McFadden  is  telling  these  things 
about  you,  why  do  you  retain  him?'"'  He  said,  "Oh,  well, 
sometimes  on  account  of  favors  we  keep  men  here  we  do  not 
care  to  keep,  but  we  rather  have  to  keep  them." 

<,).     Did  he  deny  it? 

A.  In  a  jocular  manner  only.  He  told  me,  "All  was  fair 
in  war  and  politics." 

<,).     Did  you  ever  hear  him  seriously  deny  the  charge? 

A.     Ob,  no,  sir.     What  I  say  is  all  he  said  about  it. 

Q.  State  whether  or  not  that  was  after  the  Legislative  In- 
vestigating Committee  went  down  there  two  years  ago. 

A.  The  conversation  I  had  with  Captain  Howard  was  after 
the  Committee  was  there. 

Q.  Then  the  Committee  had  been  there  before  McFadden 
made  this  statement  ? 

A.      Yes,  sir. 

<„>.  Do  you  know  personally  of  any  money  transactions  be- 
tween the  Directors  and  the  Warden? 

A.     ]No,  sir. 

Q.     You  say  Mr.  Finney  voted  for  Mr.  Howard  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

(}.     Did  you  ever  have  any  talk  with  Mr.  Finney  ? 

A.     Oh,  frequently. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  any  talk  with  him  in  reference  to 
why  he  voted  for  Mr.  Howard  ? 

A.     Oh,  no,  not  at  all. 

Q.  You  don't  know  from  any  other  source  or  any  other 
persons  any  facts  in  connection  with  this  bribery? 

A.  I  will  leave  that  point  open,  if  you  please.  I  will  state 
at  this  present  time  I  do  not  remember  of  any  other. 

Q.  Are  there  any  other  facts  in  connection  with  the  prison 
you  desire  to  state  to  the  Committee  ? 

A.  As  to  the  Chaplain,  L.  F.  Cain,  I  wish  to  say  the  law  of 
the  prison,  as  I  understand  it,  is  that  all  the  funds  received 
from  visitors  passing  through  there — 25  cents  each — were  to  go 


123 

to  building  up  the  library  of  the  prison,  and  all  money  found 
on  the  person  of  a  prisoner,  after  he  was  once  inside  of  the 
prison,  was  taken  for  the  same  purpose,  and  that  was  consid- 
erable from  the  trinkets  they  sold  to  visitors  or  money  they 
otherwise  received.  Xo  prisoner  was  allowed  to  have  money 
on  his  person.  The  number  of  visitors  who  pass  through  there 
in  one  year  I  have  made  a  rough  estimate  of.  I  think  it  would 
be  sure  to  be  at  least  that  much,  an  average  of  live  persons  a 
day.  I  have  seen  one  hundred  pass  through  there  in  one  day. 
And  in  all  the  two  years  I  was  there,  there  never  was  but  one 
batch  of  books  bought,  and  they  were  principally  medical 
books,  because  the  Chaplain  was  then  studying  medicine,  and 
he  bought  these  books  for  himself  and  charged  them  up  to  the 
fund.  He  bought  Gray's  Anatomy.  The  kind  of  book  he 
bought,  the  way  it  was  bound — it  was  a  poorty  bound  book — 
probably  cost  f  3.50.  It  was  charged  at  $6  or  $6.50  to  the  State, 
and  when  I  told  him  it  was  rather  extravagant  for  that  book,, 
he  said,  "Oh,  well,  that  is  customary,"  and  laughed  over  it. 
Judging  from  that,  if  the  other  books  cost  that  way,  they  were 
rather  costly  books.  But  the  books  he  got  that  time  would 
probably  have  cost  $40  or  $50.  That  was  right  under  my  su- 
pervision. I  would  often  go  through  the  library,  and  in  all 
the  time  I  was  there  that  was  all  the  books  ever  bought.  Evi- 
dently there  must  have  been  $300  a  year  library  fund,  but  what 
went  with  it  I  could  not  tell. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  State  if  you  know  anything  about 
Chaplain  Cain  was  dealing  in  procuring  pardons. 

A.  Chaplain  Cain  told  George  W.  Fort,  of  Hancock  Coun- 
ty, that  for  $50  he  would  procure  a  pardon  for  him. 

Q.     Did  you  hear  him  state  itV 

A.     I  did. 

Q.  State  whether  or  not  that  was  at  the  time  he  was  serv- 
ing as  Chaplain. 

A.  .  Yes,  sir,  it  was.  At  one  time  he  called  the  lifetime  men 
together  and  told  them  if  they  would  donate  him  so  much 
money,  some  considerable  amount,  I  do  not  remember  just  now, 
that  he  would  go  before  the  Legislature  and  he  would  procure 
the  passage  of  a  bill  making  fifteen  years  a  lifetime  sentence : 
and  they  gave  him  the  money,  and  he  went  to  Indianapolis, 
and  when  he  came  back  he  laughed  and  said,  if  they  don't  get 
their  bill  through  he  would  get  his  bill  through  to  raise  his 
salary  from  $800  to  $1,400. 


124 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  person  who  wcmld  know  something 
about  the  amount  of  money  he  received  ? 

A.  I  did  know,  exactly;  fifty  or  one  hundred  dollars,  may- 
be more.  I  know  they  donated  pretty  liberally. 

Q.     Did  he  claim  to  be  a  lawyer  ? 

A.     Oh,  yes,  sir,  but  he  claimed  his  influence  was  sufficient. 

Q.  State  what  intercourse  the  convicts  might  have  with  the 
outside. 

A.  The  guards  would  carry  in  whisky,  not  all  of  them, 
but  some  of  them  would  carry  in  whisky  or  anything  else 
that  the  men  wanted  to  buy.  The  foremen  of  the  contractors 
would  do  the  same  thing  in  the  shops.  The  trusties,  of  course, 
•carried  in  anything  they  might  get  hold  of  on  the  outside. 

Q.  What  do  you  know,  if  anything,  about  any  of  the  guards 
and  officials  being  drunk  ? 

A.  I  have  seen  Captain  Howard  drunk  fifty  times,  I  guess. 
Not  down  helplessly  drunk,  but  intoxicated.  I  have  seen  Dr. 
McFadden,  the  Hospital  Steward,  so  drunk  I  put  him  to  bed, 
I  don't  know  how  many  times.  I  have  seen  Mr.  Jamison,  the 
guard,  when  he  was  drunk. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  any  one  having  c"harge  of  the 
keys  and  getting  drunk,  so  that  a  person  not  intoxicated  could 
take  the  keys? 

A.  Well,  Dr.  McFadden  would  get  drunk,  and  I  have  taken 
his  keys  and  carried  them  in  my  pocket  for  half  a  night.  I 
could  have  let  out  all  the  persons  in  the  hospital  department — 
attendants,  sick  men  and  all,  without  his  knowing  anything  at 
all  about  it.  I  would  put  him  to  bed. 

Q.     Was  that  a  frequent  occurrence  ? 

A.     Oh  !  yes,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Fatten :  Was  this  traffic  going  on  with  the 
knowledge  of  any  of  the  officers — this  carrying  in  of  whisky, 
etc.? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  told  Captain  Howard.  It  was  my  duty  to 
report  to  him  how  the  Hospital  was  conducted. 

Q.     How  were  you  treated  ? 

A.  I  never  received  a  cross  word  from  anybody  except  Dr. 
McFadden.  Dr.  Graham,  I  wish  to  say  as  we  go  along,  was  a 
noble  man.  I  seemed  to  be  preferred.  Dr.  Graham  would  call 
on  me  when  he  wanted  any  consultation  rather  than  McFad- 
den, and  it  made  him  mad.  He  tried  to  get  up  a  scheme  to  get 


125 

me  into  trouble.  He  tried  to  get  Buchanan  to  take  one  dol- 
lar's worth  of  opium  down  and  tell  a  man  named  Lowrey  that 
I  had  sent  it  to  him,  but  old  Buchanan  was  too  honest.  They 
found  it  out,  and  he  said  that  McFadden  gave  it  to  him  him- 
self. It  was  against  the  rules  to  give  out  opium  to  persons  un- 
less it  was  a  dose  for  prescription.  In  giving  it  in  bulk  that 
way,  of  course,  it  would  ruin  me.  For  all  that,  McFadden 
stayed  until  he  got  to  drinking  and  carousing  about  so  that 
Captain  Howard  quietly  asked  him  to  resign. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  What  about  this  man  Buchanan 
having  his  money  taken  from  him? 

A.  Buchanan,  Ignatius  Buchanan,  frequently  told  me  as  to 
having  deposited  the  amount  when  he  went  there,  and  his 
trunk  and  gold  watch.  He  told  me  what  pages  the  entry  was 
made  and  about  Shuler  stealing  his  money,  and  about  Captain 
Howard  covering  up  the  steal  and  having  the  pages  torn  out, 
a,nd  so  on.  He  had  some  $8,300  in  all. 
„  Q.  He  wits  a  convict? 

A.     Yes,  sir;  life-time;  he  went  from  here. 

Q.     What  leaves  did  he  say  were  torn  out? 

A.     The  entries  66,  69  and  71  of  the  cash  book. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     Who  cut  the  leaves  out? 

A.  I  could  not  say  that.  Captain  Huette  went  to  look  it  up 
for  him  on  the  sly,  t«  see  what  was  coming  to  him.  It  seems 
Huette  was  rather  friendly  to  Buchanan,  and  he  found  it  out. 

Q.     Did  Mr.  Huette  ever  say  anything  about  it? 

A.  Clerk  Huette  told  me  that  the  leaf  was  cut  out,  and  he 
could  not  tell  about  it.  \ 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  What  about  this  man  O'JSTeil  who 
•was  found  dead? 

A.  I  can  only  refer  to  prisoners  who  told  me.  They  were 
acquainted  with  that  transaction.  James  Hudson,  Oram  Batey 
and  Ignatius  Buchanan,  all  life-time  men,  and  McDonald  Cheek. 
They  said  he  was  found  dead,  hung  up  to  the  door,  after 
begging  to  be  let  down. 

Q.     Did  they  say  what  he  was  punished  for? 

A.  Some  infraction  of  the  rules;  I  don't  remember  what  the 
specific  charge  was. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  a  man  being  burnt  in  the 
furnace  ? 

A.  I  heard  that  frequently.  That  happened  before  I  came 
there. 


126 

Q.  What  about  the  convict  who  is  said  to  have  escaped  to 
Tennessee  ? 

A.  That  is  the  man  who  should  have  been  burnt  in  the  fur- 
nace. It  was  reported  that  he  had  escaped  to  Tennessee,  wheuy 
in  reality,  as  report  has  it  from  these  prisoners  I  have  named, 
that  a  guard  struck  him  too  hard  and  killed  him,  and  they 
could  not  bury  the  body  for  fear  of  investigation,  and  took  it  to 
the  furnace,  made  the  firemen  and  others  leave.  When  they 
came  back  they  found  evidence  of  a  man  having  been  burnt  in 
the  furnace.  Then  it  was  reported  he  went  away.  Pieces 
would  come  out  in  the  Tennessee  papers  about  the  man  having 
been  heard  from,  and  so  on,  and  Captain  Howard  is  said  to 
have  sent  detectives  down  there. 

Q.     Do  you  know  these  engine  men  ? 

A.     These  men  I  speak  of  could  tell  you  that ;  I  can  not. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  What  evidence  did  they  discover  therey 
as  reported,  of  his  being  consumed  in  the  furnace? 

A.  It  came  to  me  that  they  came  there,  and  thought  it  a 
very  singular  transaction  that  they  should  have  them  go  away 
at  such  a  time  ;  it  was  in  the  night  time,  and  when  they  came 
back  they  looked  to  see  what  they  might  have  been  doing,  and 
they  found  evidence  of  the  remains  of  a  person  who  had  been* 
burnt  in  the  furnace. 

Q.     How  long  did  they  stay  away  ? 

A.     A  couple  of  hours. 

<v>.     [s  there  any  other  matter  you  wish  to  speak  of? 

A.  You  ask  the  same  men  I  have  named  about  Dave  Allen 
taking  a  lot  of  fluters,  fluting  irons,  worth  $1.50  or  $2  apiece. 
Everybody  knows  as  well  as  they  can  know  ai)3'thing  that 
never  came  out  positively  that  David  M.  Allen  stole  a  couple 
of  hundred  or  so  of  them,  and  was  about  to  get  caught  in  the 
transaction,  and  he  had  a  life-time  convict,  a  nigger  named 
Dave  Roper,  from  Terre  Haute,  say  that  he  stole  them,  with 
the  promise  that  he  should  have  a  nice  position.  Roper  did  go 
out  and  swear  that  he  stole  those  irons,  and  since  that  time  he 
has  been  head  cook.  He  has  the  privilege  of  tinkering  about 
and  doing  as  he  pleases.  He  makes  toothpicks  and  such  trink- 
ets, and  sells  them,  and  does  as  he  pleases.  He  is  a  fractious 
fellow,  and  if  it  were  anybody  else  would  be  in  trouble  fre- 
quently, but  they  do  not  punish  him  at  all.  Captain  Allen  has 
him  in  charge,  and  it  is  generally  conceded  that  is  the  reason 


127 

of  it — that  Captain  Allen  would  get  him  a  pardon,  and  give 
him  a  good  position  while  he  was  there. 

<^.  By.  Mr.  Sinclair:  Is  there  any  other  transaction  that  you 
know  of? 

A.  Do  you  know  anything  in  regard  to  the  dairy  ?  I  worked 
at  the  house,  that  is,  superintended  out  there  and  the  cows — 
now  I  won't  say  positively  they  were  State  cows — they  were 
reported  to  be.  The  convicts  took  charge  of  them  and  milked 
them,  7  or  8  very  fine  cows,  and  they  carried  the  milk  to  the 
house,  and  the  milk  that  was  taken  up  to  the  hospital,  about 
probably  a  gallon  a  day,  was  charged  up  to  the  State,  and  the 
Directors  allowed  pay  for  it  right  along,  and  they  sold  milk,  I 
guess  to  twenty  families  around  there,  and  appropriated  the 
money,  put  it  down  in  their  pockets.  I  thought  it  was  a  little 
singular  that  it  should  be  so  was  the  reason  I  took  notice  of  it. 

Omer  T.  Bailey,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows  : 

<c).  By  Mr.  Alexander:     How  long  have  you  been  here? 

A.     Nearly  sixteen  years. 

Q.     What  county  did  you  come  from  ? 

A.      SVell,  my  home  is  in  Dearborn;  I  came  from  Franklin. 

Q.     For  what  crime  ? 

A.  I  was  implicated  with  being  accessory  to  a  murder  com- 
mitted there.  Sent  here  for  life. 

Q.     What  place  did  you  have  when  you  first  came  here? 

A.     I  was  on  the  contract  in  the  pattern  shop, 

',).     Did  you  ever  have  charge  of  an  engine? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  had  charge  of  one  while  it  remained  in  the 
wash  house.  Have  one  now  there. 

<.,).  I  would  like  to  call  your  attention  to  a  particular  time, 
I  don't  know  just  when  it  was,  and  ask  you  about  the  circum- 
stances, when  some  man  was  punished  for  some  offense,  and 
died  and  never  was  buried  —  do  you  know  what  became  of  that 


man  ? 


A.  You  ask  too  many  questions  in  one;  I  will  tell  you  as 
far  as  I  know  in  regard  to  that  matter.  There  was  a  man  here 
that  underwent  punishment,  and  was  found  dead,  hanging  at 
his  door ;  I  think  his  body  was  buried  out  here  in  the  grave- 
yard ;  I  don't  know  that  he  was,  but  he  was  carried  out. 

<,).     What  was  his  name  ? 

A.     His  name  was  O'Neil. 

tj.     You  say  he  was  taken  out  of  the  prison  yard  and  buried? 


128 

A.  Well,  that  was  the  supposition — that  he  went  out.  We 
see  the  coffins  go  out,  and  the  ambulance,  and  suppose  the  man 
went  out. 

Q.     You  say  he  was  found  dead — did  you  see  him  ? 

A.  I  seen  him  after  he  was  dead;  I  didn't  see  him  when  he 
was  hanging  at  the  door.  He  had  heen  there  all  night  from 
the  day  before. 

Q.  Do  you  remember  the  season  of  the  year — know  what 
kind  of  weather  there  was  ? 

A.  Xo,  sir.  I  could  not  give  you  any  definite  answer, 
because  it  has  been  sometime  ago. 

Q.     Do  you  know  whether  he  was  white  or  not? 

A.     I  don't  know.     I  think  he  was  white.  .    x 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  any  conversation  with  the  officials, 
about  it  ? 

A.  There  was  a  general  talk  throughout  the  prison  about 
the  man.  The  rumor  was  the  Doctor  had  excused  the  man 
from  duty,  and  sent  him  as  an  excused  man  to  the  cell-house. 
He  was  ordered  to  be  strung  up  by  the  officials,  and  found 
dead  in  the  morning  at  breakfast  time. 

Q.     Did  they  lay  him  out  ? 

A.  They  took  him  to  what  is  called  the  dead-room,  attached 
to  the  Hospital. 

Q.  What  was  the  rumor  hereabout  the  prison  as  to  whether 
he  was  ever  buried  or  burnt?  ' 

A.  There  was  a  great  many  versions  about  it.  Some  were 
Under  the  impression  the  majority  that  die  here  their  bodies 
go  to  the  Louisville  Medical  College.  At  one  time  for  a  long 
while  I  had  charge  of  the  graveyard  out  there.  I  used  to  make 
coffins.  I  heard  rumors  of  that  kind,  and  when  there  was  to 
be  a  burial  I  would  go  and  strew  sticks  and  straws  about  the 
grave,  and  would  go  out  the  next  morning,  and  in  a  good 
many  cases  they  had  been  disturbed.  I  have  seen  men  sitting 
right  up  on  the  railroad  track.  They  were  piping  oft' the  place 
we  were  planting  the  man,  in  order  to  have  their  chance  of 
getting  the  bod}7. 

Q.     At  any  time  you  had  charge  of  the  furnace  or  engine, : 
state  whether  or  not  you  ever  found  any  bones,  or  what  you 
thought  were  the  remains  of  a  human  being. 

A.  Well,  there  was  a  circumstance  took  place  here  that  was 
previous  to  the  O'Neil  business.  There  was  a  man  by  the 

* 


129 

name  of  Goddard.  He  was  a  twenty-one-year  man.  He  was 
a  man  pretty  high  strung,  and  so  considered,  still,  a  good  fel- 
low to  get  along  with.  I  remember  he  got  the  displeasure  of 
some  of  the  guards  in  some  way  or  other,  and,  after  his  day's 
work  was  done,  they  took  him  to  punish  him.  He  was  a  man, 
I  guess,  had  never  been  in  the  habit  of  letting  any  one  do  that 
without  making  resistance,  and  he  resisted,  and  they  got  away 
with  him.  I  know  this  much  about  it.  It  was  out  and  was 
common  talk  that  Goddard  was  dead,  and  everybody  knew  he 
was  enjoying  good  health  when  he  was  taken  from  his  day's 
work  the  evening  before.  I  couldn't  tell  all  the  rumors  that 
was  afloat.  Some  rumors  was  out  that  he  resisted,  wouldn't 
allow  them  to  punish  him  and  they  hit  him  a  little  too  hard 
arid  killed  him.  That  was  the  common  rumor.  I  don't  know 
personally  that  this  happened.  At  that  time  I  was  running 
the  laundry,  and  the  boilers  that  supplied  the  steam  was  in  the 
center  of  the  yard  down  there.  I  went  down  there  in  order 
—"to  get  the  fireman  to  put  on  more  steam.  He  was  out  of 
sorts,  and  cut  me  off  very  short.  He  said,  "  I  would  like 
to  know  how  a  man  is  going  to  furnish  steam  when  the  boiler 
is  burnt,"  and  called  my  attention.  I  looked  in  the  boiler, 
and  there  was  a  -blister,  or  cat-face,  on  the  boiler  the  shape  of 
my  hand,  what  is  called  a  cat-face.  There  must  have  been  ex- 
traordinary heat  there  and  had  burnt  it.  I  said,  "What 
caused  it?"  He  said,  "Ain't  them  bones  there  enough  to 
satisfy  you  ?"  and  "that's  burnt  meat."  They  did  that,  and 
he  mentioned  certain  parties. 
Q.  Whom  did  he  mention  ? 

A.  lie  mentioned  D.  M.  Allen  for  one,  Mr.  Kennedy,  the 
guard,  for  another ;  and  Arthur  Hilliard,  who  was  guard  here, 
had  charge  of  the  cell -house  at  that  time.  I  took  a  stick  and 
punched  the  bones  and  meat  around,  and  looked  at  them.  I 
I  said  that  was  curious  kind  of  meat.  He  said:  "I  should 
think  so.  There  is  where  Goddard  went  in,  right  there,  and 
was  burnt  in  the  furnace.  They  came  here  last  night,  and  me 
and  my  partner  was  told  to  go  away  and  keep  away  for  two 
hours  until  they  accomplished  their  object." 

».Q.     Who  told  them  to  go  away  ? 
A.     Mr.    Allen    had   that   place  in   charge,  and   told  these 
men — the  fireman   and  assistant — to  go  off  about  the  kitchen 

9— PRISON. 


130 

and  stay  there,  and  said:  "When  we  want  you  we  will  call 
for  you,"  and  these  men  come  there  and  found  the  bones. 

Q.  The  rumor  was  Grodd.ird  died  very  suddenly;  was  it 
said  that  he  was  buried? 

A.  The  rumor  has  it  Goddard  died  very  sudden,  but  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  the  body  being  taken  out. 

Q.  When  a  man  is  buried,  is  there  anything  put  about  his 
head,  giving  his  name? 

A.  There  is  a  small  board;  they  generally  put  their  name 
on  them. 

Q.     This  is  before  you  had  charge  of  the  grave-yard  ? 

A.  No  ;  that  was  after  they  had  taken  it  off  my  hands.  I 
had  more  duties  to  perform  than  I  could  possibly  do. 

Q.  Have  you  ever  made  an  examination  to  see  whether 
Goddard's  grave  was  marked  in  the  grave-yard  ? 

A.  I  never  seen  it,  although  I  have  been  there  a  hundred 
times  since. 

Q.     These  bones  you  saw,  what  kind  of  bones  were  they? 

A.  They  looked  to  me  nothing  like  animal  bones.  Looked 
to  me  more  like  bones  from  man's  wrist  and  ankle  bones. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     Did  you  see  any  skull  ? 

A.  There  was  a  kind  of  cinder  there,  big  as  a  half-gallon 
measure  ;  peculiar  kind  of  substance. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander:  Did  you  see  anything  that  looked 
like  the  back  bones  ? 

A.  I  couldn't  tell  you.  I  am  not  so  well  acquainted  with 
the  anatomy  of  a  man,  but  the  bones  looked  different  from 
animal,  and,  from  the  remark  he  made,  I  scrutinized  them  a 
little  closer  than  what  I  would  otherwise. 

Q.     What  was  his  name  ? 

A.     This  man  was  named  Robert  Roscoe. 

Q.     What  became  of  him  ? 

A.  He  is  down  here  now  near  Bedford.  He  is  a  farmer. 
Put  in  ten  years'  sentence  here. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  Allen,  or  anybody  else  with  Allen, 
have  a  conversation  about  this  mau,  as  to  what  became  of  him  ? 

A.  No,  sir.  He  never  had  much  use  for  me — Mr.  Allen. 
I  don't  know  for  what  reason.  I  suppose  he  thought  I  was  a 
little  too  close  an  observer  for  him. 

Q.     Did  these  guards  mention  it? 

A.     No,  sir;  none  of  them  ever   mentioned  it.     Of   course, 


131 

there  was  general  rumors  and  talk  about  it  among  the  men, 
but  nothing  that  I  could  give  you  accurately. 

Q.  •  How  long  ago  was  it  that  this  happened — when  you  saw 
these  bones  in  there  ? 

A.     It  was  somewhere,  I  believe,  in  '75  or  '76. 

Q.     Who  was  the  Warden  at  that  time  ? 
.     !A.     Captain  Howard. 

Q.     Who  were  the  Directors  ? 

A.  I  believe  Captain  John  Kirk,  from  Madison,  was  one  ;  I 
am  not  able  to  tell  you. 

Q.  .Did  you  ever  have  any  talk  with  these  guards  or  officials 
of  the  Prison  in  regard  to  the  matter;  when  you  thought  their 
suspicions  were  raised,  did  you  ever  mention  the  case? 

A.  I  have  told  certain  guards  myself  what  I  knew  about  it. 
1  believe  I  told  Mr.  Cox  about  it  and  the  Clerk. 

Q.     Did  Allen  ever  say  anything  about  it  to  you'r 

A.  No,  sir;  but  he  appeared  to  have  a  spite  at  rue,  and  he 
.  would  vent  it  out  at  me ;  sheared  me  of  many  privileges  I  had. 
I  couldn't  approach  him,  no  matter  on  what  subject,  and  when 
sent  to  him  direct  by  the  Warden,  but  he  would  give  me  the 
bluff  and  cut  me  short,  and  do  everything  he  could  to  brow- 
beat and  intimidate  me.  I  have  heard  him  say,  "There  is 
Bailey;  it  wouldn't  do  to  let  him  know  anything;"  that  was 
the  way  he  would  get  it  off. 

Q.  What  are  the  names  of  these  persons  who  know  about 
this  matter  ? 

i 

;••  :A.  There  is  Henry  Caldwell,  colored,  had  more  or  less  to  do 
around  the  furnace,  and  is  said  to  have  seen  the  man  put  right 
in  ;  he  is  a  river  man,  and  is. at  Evansville,  or  Henderson,  Ky.; 
and  there  was  another  man,  Paul  Abel,  now  at  Seymour ;  he 
was  the  assistant  fireman. 

Q.     Where  are  these  guards? 

A.  Kennedy  is  employed  in  the  shoeshop ;  Hilliard  lives 
here  in  Jeffersonville. 

.  Q.  State  what  time  it  was  in  the  morning  when  you  went 
there  and  found  these  bones. 

A.  Right  after  breakfast  time.  They  should  have  done  this 
thing  in  the  evening  after  the  day's  work,  and  after  the  prison- 
ers had  all  gone  to  the  cells. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten:  Who  was  the  guard  that  had  charge  of 
him? 


132 

A.  I  think  Mr.  Kennedy  was  in  charge  of  the  trip-harumer 
shop,  and  think  he  was  the  man  had  charge  of  him. 

Q.     Do  you  know  who  the  parties  were  that  beat  him? 

A.  These  parties  I  have  mentioned — Captain  Allen,  Mr. 
Milliard  and  Kennedy.  They  was  in  the  habit;  they  come  in 
here,  and  if  they  choose  to  punish  a  man  they  went  right 
ahead  and  done  it. 

Q.     Without  any  authority? 

A.  .   Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Can  you  fix  the  date  this  happened? 

A.     !N~o,  sir. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Sinclair:  Do  you  know  it  was  during  Howard's 
administration  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  because  he  came  in  with  a  vengeance  and 
made  everything  hop  from  the  start.  There  has  been  some 
terrible  work  done  here,  if  it  ever  could  be  got  out.  All  un- 
necessary, too. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander:     When  did  you  come  here  ? 

A.     I  came  here  the  24th  day  of  May,  1871. 

Q.     How  long  after  you  came  was  it  that  this  happened? 

A.     Well,  it  was  three  or  four  years  ;  four  years  probably. 
:     Q.     What  season  of  the  year  ? 

A.     It  was  along  in  the  fall,  if  I  am  not  mistaken. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  other  transactions  like  that  hav- 
ing occurred? 

A.  There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  brutality  shown  here; 
this  case,  in  particular,  of  O'^Teil's.  Why,  I  spoke  with  the 
Doctor,  and  he  told  me  himself  it  was  a  terrible  thing  and 
rested  on  his  mind  day  and  night  that  the  thing  had  occurred. 
They  claimed  that  Dr.  Sherrod  didn't  excuse  the  man,  and  Dr. 
.Sherrod  went  up  to  the  Hospital  and  fetched  down  his  books 
and  showed  where  he  ordered  the  man  to  his  cell  and  excused 
him  from  labor  during  that  day,  and  there  was  quite  a  wrangle 
as  to  who  was  right  and  who  was  wrong.  lie  claimed  they 
had  punished  the  man  without  his  orders,  when  he  had  ex- 
cused him. 

Q.     Do  you  know  where  O'Neil  came  from? 

A.     I  do  not,  sir.    He  was  here  for  larceny. 

Q.     What  was  Goddard  here  for? 

A.     He  was  here  for  manslaughter. 


133 

Q.  How  long  after  you  came  in  was  it  when  this  O'Neil 
case  happened  ? 

A.  This  O'lS'eil  business  happened  six  or  seven  years  ago ; 
six,  I  believe.  I  tell  you  they  strung  him  up  there.  The  House 
Committee  arrived  here  the  afternoon  the  thing  occurred,  and 
•in  the  morning  he  was  dead,  when  they  first  entered  the  Prison 
to  examine  into  things. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :    Had  they  any  knowledge  of  his  death? 

A.  I  believe  they  held  a  post-mortem  on  him.  Dr.  Edmunds, 
he  was  a  physician  that  was  on  the  Legislative  Committee.  I 
believe  their  verdict  was  that  the  man  died  from  congestion.  I 
suppose  it  would  cause  congestion  to  any  man  to  be  hung  up 
"by  the  wrists  and  stop  the  circulation. 

Q.     How  long  was  he  hung  up? 

A.  I  couldn't  tell  you  how  long  he  was  up  before  they  let 
him  down.  They  usually  go  to  the  Hospital  in  the  morning 
and  the  doctor  passes  on  them,  whether  he  excuses  them  or 
sends  them  to  the  shops  ;  then  in  the  afternoon,  too,  at  3  o'clock. 
I  don't  know  whether  they  hung  him  up  in  the  morning  or 
afternoon.  He  was  hung  up  there  all  night  until  the  next 
morning. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten  :  Can  you  give  the  names  of  the  guards 
who  had  charge  of  him? 

A.  This  man,  Arthur  Hilliard,  had  charge  of  the  cell  house, 
and  he  had  a  colored  man  with  him  when  he  opened  the  door 
and  the  fellow  was  hanging  there.  This  man  was  in  the  habit 
of  going  with  him.  He  is  dead  now,  took  very  peculiar  dis- 
ease, no  physician  could  understand  it,  and  he  passed  away  very 
mysteriously,  and  the  man  looked  like  he  was  able  to  stand 
anything. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Alexander :  Did  you  see  Mr.  O'Neil  after  he  was 
dead? 

A.     Yes,  sir,  I  seen  him. 

Q.     Did  you  make  any  examination? 

A.     No,  sir,  just  went  in  and  seen  him. 

Q.     Did  you  examine  his  wrists  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  did  not. 

Q.  By  Mr.  Patten :  What  did  Captain  Howard  say  to  the 
Committee  ? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  as  I  could  tell  you  anything  about 
that  at  all.  He  always  makes  light  of  everything.  Always 


134 

. 

tries  to  impress  upon  the  Committees'  minds  they  need  not 
believe  a  word  anybody  tells  them.  That  has  always  been  his 
object — laughing  and  ridiculing  any  statement  man  makes 
before  anybody,  and  it  was  almost  as  much  as  a  man's  life  was 
worth  heretofore  for  him  to  make  any  statement  at  all  to  visitors 
of  any  kind. 

Q.     Was  any  severe  catting  done  ? 

A.  This  man,  Mungo,  we  all  knew  he  received  a  terrible 
castigation,  because  the  blows  could  be  heard  in  the  yard. 
Some  say  he  was  hit  50,  others  100,  and  others  counted  120 
stokes.  He  was  put  in  the  Hospital  and  died.  McDonald  Cheek 
called  my  attention  to  it. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     How  long  ago  was  that  ? 

A.  Somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  time  this  O'Neil 
matter  happened. 

Q.     State  if  the  severity  of  the  famishment  has  been  abated. 

A.  Yes,  within  the  last  two  or  three  years,  it  was  nothing 
to  what  it  was  before  that. 

Q.     Who  were  the  Directors  at  the  time  that  occurred  ? 

i-1 

A.  I  am  not  able  to  state.  I  saw  his  back  and  the  flesh  was 
sloughing  off  from  the  effects  of  the  cat.  You  could  see  the 
blue  streaks  where  the  cat  went.  Chaplain  Boring,  of  Paoli, 
Orange  County,  knows  about  it.  I  went  to  him  and  said: 
"Are  you  a  humane  man.''  He  said:  "  Yes,  I  am,  and  I 
can't  stand  this  thing  much  longer.  I  am  going  to  put  a  stop 
to  it,  if  there  is  a  law  in  the  land."  This  man,  I  think,  has  a 
a  memorandum  of  all  the  dates  of  things  that  occurred  here. 

Q.     Where  did  Mungo  come  from  ? 

A.  He  was  a  transient  man,  supposed  to  be  a  half-breed 
Cherokee  Indian.  I  know  men  connected  here  who  do  not 
want  to  express  themselves.  It  is  almost  like  signing  a  death- 
warrant. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  any  men  being  punished  after  they 
had  made  any  statement  ? 

A.  They  would  trump  up  some  trifling  excuse  and  punisb 
him. 

Q.     Were  you  ever  threatened  if  you  said  anything  ? 

A.  ]STo,  sir,  but  it  was  always  considered  if  a  man  would 
come  before  the  Committee  they  would  get  even  with  him. 

James  M.  Hudson,  convict,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified 
as  follows  : 


135 

1  • 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander:     How  long  have  you.  been  here? 

A.     Going  on  21  years. 

Q.     Where  did  you  come  from  ? 

A.     From  Vanderburgh  County,  Evansville. 

Q.     What  are  you  here  for? 

A.     Mnrder. 

Q.  Did  you  know  a  man  who  was  here  in  the  prison  by  the 
name  of  Goddard  ? 

A.  I  was  not  personally  acquainted  with  him,  but  the  name 
is  familiar. 

Q.     Can  you  call  him  to  mind  now  ? 

A.     No,  sir,  I  don't  know  that  I  can. 

Q.     What  became  of  that  man  ? 

A.     I  think  he  died  here,  some  of  them  state. 

Q.     How  long  ago  was  that  ? 

A.     Ten  or  eleven  years. 

..     Q.     Do  you  remember  about  a  man  that  was  burnt  up  in  the 
furnace  ? 

A.  It  was  said,  but  I  don't  know  this  to  be  a  fact,  it  was 
said  that  there  was  a  man  burnt  here  in  the  furnace  about  that 
time. 

Q.     Was  it  only  rumor  that  you  know? 

A.     Just  rumor,  I  don't  know  anything  of  the  facts. 

Q.  Do  you  know  anything  about  a  man  named  O'lSTeil,  who 
died  here  ? 

A.  Yes,  I  helped  carry  him  to  the  hospital.  I  was  working 
in  the  cell  house.  It  was  in  May,  six  years  ago,  maybe  longer, 
maybe  eight  years  ago.  I  was  at  work  in  this  old  cell  house, 
and  Mr.  Jack  Hilliard  was  the  day  guard  in  there,  and  he  says, 
"Hudson,  come  here;  there  is  a  man  up  here  I  want  you  to 
carry  to  the  hospital."  I  went  up  on  the  range,  and  said, 
"  Where  is  he?  "  He  said,  "In  there,"  and  I  stepped  in.  The 
man  was  in  there,  dead,  and  I  gathered  hold  of  him  with  three 
or  four  others,  and  we  carried  him  to  the  hospital.  The  man 
was  dead. 

Q.     Was  he  strung  up  ? 

A.  I  can't  say.  He  had  been  strung  up.  I  think  he  was 
strung  up  then,  but  they  had  him  down  before  I  got  there.  I 
took  hold  of  the  man  after  we  got  to  the  hospital ;  took  hold 
of  his  arm,  and  his  arm  was  stiff,  just  about  in  that  shape  [in- 
dicating bent  elbows,  hands  toward  shoulder].  This  part  of  the 


136 

arm  worked  [above  the  elbow]  and  this  [below  the  elbow]  was 
stiff. 

Q.     What  did  you  notice  about  the  wrists  ? 

A.  I  did  not  notice  anything  about  that,  but  I  knew  the 
man  had  been  hung  up  there. 

Q.     What  did  the  guard  say  about  it? 

A.  They  said  that  he  had  been  sick  that  night.  They  did 
not  talk  much  about  the  matter  with  me.  That  was  about  the 
talk. 

Q.     Did  you  hear  Mr.  Jack  Howard  say  anything  about  it? 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     How  long  had  he  been  tied  up  there? 

A.  I  think  he  had  been  up  there  eight  to  ten  or  fifteen  days  ; 
I  am  not  certain. 

Q.     What  makes  you  think  he  had  been  there  that  long  ? 

A.  There  had  been  talk  among  the  prisoners  that  such  and 
such  a  man  had  been  up  there  so  long. 

Q.     Do  you  know  what  became  of  him;  did  they  bury  him? 

A.  I  can  not  tell  you  anything  about  that,  sir;  the  last  I 
saw  of  him  was  in  the  hospital. 

Q.     What  was  his  given  name  ? 

A.     I  don't  know,  sir. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  his  being  sick  before  being 
put  up  there  ? 

A.  I  don't  know  anything  particular  about  it.  The  man 
appeared  to  be  complaining.  I  had  been  up  to  the  hospital 
several  mornings  and  saw  him  there. 

Q.     Just  before  this  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir,  I  think  so. 

Q.     Was  the  man  a  large,  robust  man,  or  not? 

A.  He  appeared  to  be  a  tolerably  stout,  hearty  man, 
medium  size,  I  think. 

Q.     Do  you  know  what  kind  of  work  he  was  at? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  do  not,  but  it  appears  to  me  like  he  was  at 
work  in  some  machine  shop.  It  runs  in  my  mind  that  way. 

Q.     Did  you  ever  hear  the  Warden  say  anything  about  it? 

A.     No ;  a  man  talks  very  little  to  the  Warden. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  have  any  talk  with  the  physician,  Dr. 
Sherrod  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir;  I  was  quite  friendly  with  him.  Sherrod  said 
he  died  with  heart  disease. 


137 

Q.  Did  you  say  anything  to  Dr.  Sherrod  about  his  being 
strung  up  ? 

A.  He  knew  he  was  strung  up.  He  was  physician  at  that 
time.  Sherrod  was  mad  about  it.  Sherrod  didn't  think  the 
man  was  in  anyways  dangerous.  He  had  examined  him  the 
day  before.  He  didn't  think  the  man  was  as  bad  as  that. 

Q.  Did  the  doctor  say  he  thought  the  man  died  with  heart 
disease? 

A.  That  was  what  he  lold  me.  I  said,  "  Doctor,  your  man 
is  dead  up  there."  He  sajd,  "  Yes,  I  am  sorry  about  it."  I 
said,  "  What  was  the  matter  with  him  ?  "  He  said,  "  Heart 
disease,  I  reckon." 

Q.     Did  he  appear  like  he  believed  it  was  heart  disease  ? 

A.     He  just  spoke  it  the  way  I  tell  you. 

Q.     Have  you  anything  to  state  to  the  Committee? 

A.  Well,  I  don't  know  that  I  know  of  anything  in  partic- 
"  ular. 

Q.  Do  you  know  of  men  having  been  punished  for  testify- 
ing before  legislative  committees? 

A.  I  expect  there  has  been  a  good  many  punished  the  last 
twenty  years;  not  that  alone,  but  they  would  pick  up  some- 
thing to  get  them  on.  I  don't  want  anything  to  do  with  them. 

Q.     Do  they  work  you  hard  ? 

A.  They  work  me  too  hard.  That  brought  on  this  paraly- 
sis. I  have  to  wear  a  heavy  steel  truss— hurt  when  I  was 
molding.  I  was  charring  coal  in  the  sun  was  what  brought  the 
paralysis  on. 

Q.     How  long  since  you  had  paralysis  ? 

A.     About  twelve  years,  I  think. 

Q.     But  they  give  you  a  good  deal  of  privilege  now? 

A.  I  don't  know  as  they  do.  I  have  been  here  so  long  they 
don't  pay  as  much  attention  to  me  as  when  I  first  came. 

Q.  This  negro  you  speak  of,  was  there  any  rumor  that  he 
had  been  killed? 

A.  That  was  my  understanding.  There  was  a  rumor  among 
the  prisoners  that  the  nigger  had  been  killed  and  burnt  up. 

Q.     And  the  negro  disappeared  ? 

A.     He  was  not  here. 

Q.     You  remember  of  having  seen  him  V 

A  V 

A.      I  es,  sir. 

Q.     Was  he  stout,  able-bodied  ? 


138 

A.     He  was  pretty  st,out. 

Q.     About  how  long  was  it  until  you  missed  him? 

A.  "Weil,  I  was  talking  about  it  a  day  or  two  after  he  was 
gone.  There  was  some  fellow  says,  "Do  you  know  what  be- 
came of  that  nigger  ?"  I  said,  "  No."  He  said,  "  I  guess  they 
killed  him  and  burnt  him  up  in  the  furnace."  I  said,  "I  guess 
not."  He  says,  "  That  is  what  the}'  say." 

Q.  When  a  man  dies  naturally  in  the  hospital,  don't  they 
usually  have  a  coffin  and  shroud,  and- is  it  not  generally  known 
to  all  the  prisoners? 

A.     Certainly ;  I  worked  in  the  hospital  there  about  three 

.years  when  Sherrod  was  there;   they  make  old   box  coffins, 

cheap  old  things,  put  a  shroud  on  them,  dig  a  grave  and  bury 

them.     I  believe  every  man  that  died  while  I  was  there  was 

buried,  but  how  long  he  stayed  out  there,  I  don't  know. 

Q.     It  is  known  by  other  prisoners  that  that  man  had  died? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     And  the  men  know  he  is  buried  ? 

A.     The  men  up  there  do,  but  not  the  men  in  the  shops. 

Q.     They  generally  take  them  out  in  the  ambulance? 

A.     Yes,  sir  ;  spring  wagon. 

Q.  You  never  heard  anybody  say  they  saw  the  negro  go 
out  ? 

A.     No,  sir ;  I  don't  know  that  they  did. 

McDonald  Cheek,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander :     How  long  have  you  been  here  ? 

A.     Fifteen  years  next  May  —  28th  of  May. 

Q.     Were  you  acquainted  with  a  man  in  here  named  O'Neil? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Did  you  know  him  very  well  ? 

A.  I  only  knew  him  from  my  connection  with  him  in  the 
hospital.  But  before  I  testify,  I  want  to  make  an  explanation. 
I  have  had  considerable  trouble  here  ;  not  any  vicious  trouble, 
but  I  have  been  hounded  around,  and  I  have  consumption,  and 
it  is  mighty  hard  with  me.  I  don't  want  to  say  anything,  but  I 
will  state  the  facts  about  this,  as  I  am  under  oath.  Six  years 
ago  the  Committee  was  down  here  ;  Mr.  Rolker  was  one  and 
Mr.  Wilson  was  chairman,  and  they  told  me  I  should  have 
protection  and  should  not  be  mistreated,  and  they  had  hardly 
got  awav  from  the  prison  until  I  was  fired  out  of  the  hospital ; 


139 

I  was  nurse  there,  and  just  kept  after  m*,  and  I  was  locked  up. 
Dr.  Sherrod  ordered*  me  out  of  the  lock-up  cell,  but  they  paid 
no  attention  to  it  until  he  saw  Captain  Howard  and  told  him, 
"  You  take  that  man's  life  in  your  own  hands  by  keeping  him 
in  that  cell."  They  turned  me  out  then,  and  first  one  and  the 
other  picked  on  me, 'and  I  concluded,  under  these  circum- 
stances, I  would  not  say  anything  about  it.  Now,  you  can 
question  me,  and  I  will  tell  the  truth. 

Q.     You  knew  O'Neil  tolerably  well  ? 

A.  I  was  nurse  in  the  hospital.  They  brought  him  in  there 
once,  sick.  I  could  see  he  had  the  asthma,  and  the  doctor 
asked  me  to  see  to  him.  That  was  his  practice;  I  had  made 
medicine  considerable  of  a  study.  He  could  not  breathe.  I 

tf 

prepared  some  medicine  and  gave  it  to  him,  and  the  next 
morning  the  doctor  examined  him,  and  left  him  in  the  hospital 
for  two  days ;  then  they  sent  him  back  to  the  shop,  and  he 
^stayed  there  in  the  shop,  I  think,  about  a  week,  until  they 
brought  him  back  to  the  hospital  again  and  left  him  for  that 
night,  and  he  was  booked  out  again  the  next  morning.  He 
stayed  in  the  shop  two  days,  complained,  and  was  fetched  to 
the  hospital.  Dr.  Sherrod  told  me  to  examine  him.  I  exam- 
ined him,  and  he  asked  me  if  I  thought  he  was  able  to  work. 
I  said,  "  Doctor,  I  don't  find  anything  the  matter  with  his 
lung.  He  complains  of  smothering  in  the  tliroat  and  breast. 
I  sounded  his  lung,  and  couldn't  see  anything  wrong  in  the 
lungs.  He  did  not  seem  to  flinch."  Sent  him  back  to  the 
shop  to  work.  He  failed  to  do  the  task,  was  reported,  taken 
up  and  locked  up,  and  it  was  four  days  from  that  time  until  he 
came  to  the  hospital  again  and  begged  to  be  put  at  some  other 
work,  and  said,  "  For  God's  sak,  take  me  down  out  of  that  cell." 
The  doctor  said,  "  Take  you  down  out  of  what  cell."  He  said, 
"  They  had  me  locked  up  ever  since  I  was  up  here."  The  Doc- 
tor jumped  on  his  feet  and  said:  "By  God,  Twill  see  who 
runs  this  institution.  I  ordered  you  to  a  change  of  work." 
Mr.  Hilliard,  a  guard,  came  up  and  said  :  "  I  will  see  to  it, 
Doctor,"  but  instead  of  changing  the  work,  they  took  and 
hung  him  up  again,  and  they  had  him  hung  there  in  the  cell, 
sick  as  he  was,  all  night.  In  the  morning  I  went  around  at- 
tending to  my  duties,  and  just  as  the  Doctor  came  in,  one  of 
;the  runners,  I  believe  a  man  named  Reef,  came  in  and  said : 
"  Doctor,  they  want  you  over  at  the  cell-house."  The  Doctor 


140 

told  me  :     "You  go  in  there  and  attend  to  the  sick  until  I  get 
back."     I  went  in,  and  ne   came  back  and.  said  ;     "  Hell's  to 
pay  now.     There  is  a  man  dead  over  there  in  the  cell-house." 
As  I  was  cleaning  up  the  ward  they  came  carrying  the  man  in 
the  dead-room.     His  face  was  set.     His  hands  set  in  that  po- 
sition [indicating  as  if  resting  on  elbows]..    Around  the  wrists 
you  could  see  where  the  hand-cuft's  had  been  set;  mortification 
was  all  around.     Dr.  Sherrod  said  to  me:     "You  leave  that 
man  just  as  he  is;  don't  you  touch  him."     "All  right,"  I  said. 
Dr.  Jesse  McClure  was  Hospital  Steward   here.      He  was  at 
Louisville,  attending  medical  college,  and  I  was  attending  to 
the  sick  while  he  was  gone.     He  stayed  at  night  and  Dr.  Sher- 
rod in  the  day  time.     They  sent  me  for  him,  and  me  and  him 
went  into  the  dead-room  to  see  O'Neil,  and  after  he  stood  there 
and  looked  at  him,  he  said  :     "  What  is  your  orders  ?"     I  said 
Dr.  Sherrod  said,  "Leave  him  just  as  he  is  until  the  Coroner 
came."     He  went  away  and  came  back  and  said  :     "  Gret  some 
water  right  quick  and  wash  this  man,  and  put  a  shroud  on  him." 
I  says  to  him:     "Dr.  Sherrod   said  for  me  not  to  touch  thia 
man  until  the  Coroner  held  an   inquest  on   him."     He  said: 
"Never     mind     what     Dr.     Sherrod     said;     do     as     I     tell 
you."      Then     I     went     in      and     got     the     water,     washed 
him,      took      oft'     his      clothes      and      put     a     shroud      on 
him.     Then  Colonel  Kegwin  and  Dr.  Beckwith,  of  Jefferson- 
ville,  friends  of  Dr.  Sherrod,  came   up  here  to  visit  Dr.  Sher- 
rod, and  they  went  into  the  dispensary,  and  the  Doctor  and 
they  had  a  little  lunch  there.      Dr.  Jesse  McClure  called  mer 
and  says:  "You  go  in  the  dispensary  and  get  the  post-mortem 
case,  but  don't  say  anything  to  Dr.  Sherrod  or  let  any  one  see 
you  get  it."      I  said:   "  What  should  I  do  if  the  Doctor  asks 
me  about  it."     He  said  :  "Just  make  some  excuse  for  getting 
it."     I  went  in  and  stepped  behind  the  door,  said  "  Excuse  me, 
Doctor,"  picked  up  the  post-mortem  case,  and  walked  out.    Dr. 
Jesse  said  to  me :    "Take  it  into  the  dead-room."     I  took  it, 
went  to  his  room,  knocked  on  the  door  and  said  :  "Doctor,  that 
post-mortem  is  in  there."     I  then  seen  Dr.  Foutz  and  Dr.  Sid- 
ney McClure  sitting  in  Dr.  Jesse's  room;  then  they  went  into 
the  dead-room  and   locked  the  door.     I  met  another  man,  by 
the  name  of  Gary  Tony,  four-year  man,  United  States   man, 
and  I  said  to  him :  "  Does  Dr.  Sherrod  know  they  are  holding 
a  post-mortem  examination  on  that  man?"    He  said:  "No,  and 


141 

I  should  tell  him'."  I  said  I  had  orders  not  to  tell  him,  and 
says,  "You  can  tell  him  if  you  want  to,"  He  went  and  told 
Dr.  Sherrod.  The  old  Doctor  came  out  tearing  ;  he  went  to  the 
dead-room  door  to  open  it  and  it  was  locked,  and  they  would 
not  let  him  in.  He  hallooed,  but  they  would  not  pay  any  at- 
tention to  that.  He  asked,  "Who  is  in  there?"  but  still  they 
would  not  let  him  in.  He  commenced  pulling  up  his  sleeves 
and  come  up  to  me  and  said.  "What  in  the  hell  does  this 
mean  ?"  I  said  I  did  not  know  what  it  meant.  He  knocked 
again,  said  he  would  kick  the  door  down  ;  still  they  would  not 
let  him  in.  He  come  back  to  Tony  and  me  and  said,  "Will  you 
men  stand  by  me,"  and  then  commenced  kicking  and  said,  "I 
will  go  in  there  if  I  have  to  kick  the  door  down,"  and  then 
they  let  him  it.  He  said:  "Gentlemen,  this  is  a 
nice  way  to  treat  me.  I  am  physician  of  this  In- 
stitution. By  w.hat  right  do  you  come  and  hold  a  post- 
mortem on  this  body."  They  had  some  words  then,  of  course, 
but  they  shut  the  door  and  we  did  not  -hear  any  more.  After 
he  came  out,  they  went  away,  but  just  about  the  time  they 
were  going,  they  called  me  in  to  sew  up  the  corpse.  Instead  of 
opening  the  breast  and  laying  it  back,  they  just  cut  the 
whole  breast  out.  They  had  taken  the  lungs  and  heart  out;  the 
lungs  lay  in  one  wooden  bucket  and  the  heart  in  another,  and 
they  took  his  liver  out.  I  asked  Dr.  Jesse  whether  I  should 
•  put  the  liver,  heart  and  lungs  in,  and  he  said  "No."  Just  then 
the  Investigating  Committee  came  in  ;  some  of  them  rushed  in 
the  room  and  broke  right  out  again,  and  would  not  stay  in  there. 
I  went  away  to  wash  my  hands,  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  kept 
dodging  the  Committee;  I  wanted  to  keep  out  of  the  way. 
They  came  into  the  kitcheik,  and  wanted  to  question  me.  I 
kept  telling  them  I  had  nothing  to  say.  You  go  in  there  and 
see  for  jourselves.  Some  went  in  and  some  did  riot.  They 
stayed  in  there  about  an  hour  before  they  lett.  After  they  left, 
1  found  they  left  everything  as  it  was  and  spread  the  shroud 
over  the  corpse  as  it  was,  and  the  Coroner  came  up  and  I  showed 
him  in,  and  he  come  in  and  seen  the  blood  on  the  sheet.  He  said: 
"  Who  held  a  post  mortem  on  this  man  ?".  I  says :  "Dr.  Foutz, 
Dr.  Sidney  McClure  and  Dr.  Jesse?"  He  said:  "H'm,  h'm! 
who  authorized  them  to  hold  that  post  mortem?"  I  said:  "I 
don't  know  anything  about  it,  sir;  you  will  have  to  ask  them?" 
He  said:  "  H'm,  hold  a.  post  mortem,"  raised  up  the  cover  and 


142 

- 

walked  away.  That  is  all  he  did.  Seen  the  little  blood  on  the 
sheet  and  did  not  look  any  further.  He  could  have  seen,  of 
course,  the  heart,  lungs  and  liver  in  the  buckets.  Captain  How- 
ard came  up  there,  and  Captain  Craig,  and  commenced  talk- 
ing, but  I  did  not  pay  much  attention.  Congestion  of  the 
lungs  or  congestion  of  the  heart  was,  I  believe,  the  decision 
they  rendered.  After  the  Committee  was  here,  Dr.  Jesse 
told  me  that  they  were  going  to  send  for  Governor 
Porter,  and  had  orders  not  to  bury  him.  Dr.  Sherrod  and  I 
went  there  after  the  Committee  left,  and  the  Doctor  says :  "  By 
God,  they  are  trying  to  put  this  off  on  me  ;  make  me  shoulder 
the  blame  for  killing  this  man."  He  says  to  me:  "You  know 
I  had  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  the  books  will  show  it."  I  am 
a  pretty  good  hand  at  examining  lungs,  and  says  I:  "Doctor, 
show  me  where  there  is  any  ulcers  on  them  lungs."  He  looked 
over  them.  He  said  :  "  Congestion  there,  h—  and  d — ,  there 
is  no  more  ulcers  on  his  lungs  than  there  is  on  a  bull's  horns." 
I  picked  up  the  heart  then  and  turned  it  over,  and  said  :  "  Doc- 
tor, that  looks  like  a  pretty  healthy  heart ;  it  is  a  little  fatty." 
The  Doctor  looked  at  it.  Says  I :  "  Don't  look  like  there  was 
much  congestion  there."  "  Congestion,  hell,"  he  says,  "  by 
God,  having  man  hung  up  to  the  door  until  he  dies  and  then 
call  it  congestion."  That  was  all  he  said,  and  walked  out.  I 
sawr  he  was  angry.  That  night  Dr.  Jesse  told  me  to  get  the 
post-mortem  case.  I  got  it,  and  I  and  him  went  in  the  dead- 
room.  He  took  the  lungs  and  told  me  to  cut  them.  They  were 
lying  in  the  water.  I  asked  him  what  he  wanted,  and  he  said 
he  wanted  to  dissect  them.  He  wanted  to  see  where  them 
ulcers  was.  I  handed  him  the  knife,  and  he  says:  "No,  you 
take  and  cut  them."  He  said :  "«I  don't  want  to  touch  them. 
I  want  you  to  do  it."  I  said  :  "  Why  ?  "  He  said  :  "  Well, 
you  are  a  better  hand  than  I  am.  If  anything  is  said  about  it, 
they  can't  blame  me  and  they  can't  hurt  you."  So  I  went  to 
work  cutting  the  lungs  up  ;  cut  them  all  to  pieces,  hundred 
pieces  or  more,  took  them  up  piece  by  piece  and  looked  at  the 
ventricle  tube  and  the  cells  of  them  and  everything.  "  Dr. 
Jesse,"  says  I  to  him,  "  I  don't  see  many  ulcers  on  there."  Says 
he:  "No,  sir;  they  don't  seem  to  show  up  very  much,"  and  he 
made  the  remark:  "  Mack,  if  you  had  as  good  a  pair  of  lungs  as 
them  you  would  be  satisfied,  wouldn't  you  ?  "  I  told  him  :  "Yes, 
sir;  I  would."  Then  we  took  the  heart  and  dissected  it,  and  just 


143 

i 

tlie  same  as  we  did  with  the  lungs,  I  cut  it  all  to  pieces,  and 
then  took  the  liver  and  done  it  also  just  the  same ;  I  cut  it  all 
to.pieces;  all. 'by  orders  of  Dr.  Jesse  McClure;  and  we  stayed 
in  there  until  half  past  1J  o'clock  at  night.  The  next  morn- 
ing Mr.Iiinton  told  me  he  was  on  the  Committee  ;  that  they  in- 
tended to  take  the  body  to  Indianapolis  ;  and  Dr.  Jesse  came 
in  and  said  to  me :  "They  talk  of  taking  this  corpse  to  In- 
dianapolis. If  they  do,  there  will  be  a  big  kick  about  these 
lungs,  liver  and  heart."  "  Well,"  I  said-,  "what  shall  I  do  with 
them?  Shall  I  put  the  pieces  in  or  shall  I  leave  them  out?" 
He  said:  "Gosh!  it  would  not  do  to  send  the  corpse  up  there 
without  any  liver,  lungs  or  heart."  He  said  :  "  Tut  them  in." 
[•picked  up  all  the  pieces  and  put  them  in  the  coffin.  I  opened 
the  breast  stitches,  and  shoved  them  in  there,  and  put  the 
stitches  back  again.  The  Committee  here  stayed  until  next 
d.ay,  and  the  water  Was  up  so  high  they  concluded  to  let  it  go, 
and  we  buried  him  in  the  Prison  graveyard. 

Q.  Did  any  of  the  Committee  look  at  him  and  inquire  why 
his  arms  were  in  this  way  [indicating]? 

.A.  I  pulled  his  arms  down.  I  laid  them  across  his  breast 
and  tied  them  so  I  could  keep  them  down.  They  were  set, 
but  you  can  lake  the  arms  of  any  man  that  is  dead  and  put 
them  in  any  position  you  want.  No,  sir ;  I  had  taken  the  arms 
down  and  had  his  shroud  on  before  the  poroner  came  in. 

Q.     Was  anything  said  to  you  about  hurrying? 

A.  I  had  orders  in  the  first  for  to  hurry  up  and  dress  him 
when  Dr.  Jesse  first  came  in.  He  wanted  to  get  him  dressed 
to  keep  from  showing  the  position  he  was  in.  When  he  came 
in  he  was  just  as  Roach  cut  him  down.  Mr.  Hilliard  said  : 
"  When  I  let  him  down  in  the  cell,  fee  just  fell  back  and  died." 
Hoaeh  said  he  was  dead  before  they  took  him  down.  I  don't 
k,now  where  Roach  lives.  I  think  he  came  from  this  county. 
Mr.  Hilliard  lives  in  town. 

Q.  You  say  Jack  Howard — when  that  man  was  up  there 
dead — had  a  quarrel  ? 

A.  Dr.  Sherrod  and  Hilliard  was  the  men  that  had  the 
words.  Hilliard  said  to  him :  "  If  he  was  not  able  to  be 
punished  it  was  his  fault  for  letting  them  go."  Dr.  Sherrod 
said  :  "  By  God,  it  was  not  his  fault.  They  never  consulted 
him." 


144 

Q.  What  do  you  know  about  a  man  named  Goddard  that 
died  in  this  prison,  or  whether  you  know  he  died? 

A.  He  was  a  white  man.  Well,  I  could  not  say  very  much 
about  this.  I  don't  know.  I  would  riot  swear  anything  con- 
cerning Goddard. 

^.     It  was  reported  that  a  negro  died  ? 

A.     Mungo  was  the  man  that  was  catted. 

Q.     Tell  us  about  it. 

A.  Mungo  had  some  trouble  over  there  about  a  file  in  the 
shop;  some  difficulty  about  a  file  being  missing.  The  foreman 
went  around  and  asked  for  the  file,  and  no  one  knew  where  it 
was.  Some  of  the  prisoners  told  him  Mungo  had  it,  but  he 
said  he  did  not  have  it,  and  had  no  use  for  it.  They  searched 
around  his  berth,  and  found  he  had  the  file;  and  they  had 
some  difficulty,  he  and  the  foreman.  Anyhow,  he  was  taken: 
to  the  office.  I  believe  Captain  llarveston  was  guard.  I 
think  he  was  the  one,  that  took  him  up.  Mr.  Kennedy  was  the 
one  that  reported  him,  and  they  took  him  down  there  behind 
the  cell-house  and  catted  him.  I  stood  out  in  the  yard,  and 
not  only  me  but  twenty  or  more  counted.  I  counted  forty- 
seven  strokes  of  the  cat.  They  hit  him  that  much. 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten :     What  kind  of  a  cat  is  it? 

A.  Thirteen  strings,  made  out  of  sole  leather;  altogether 
about  three  feet  long;  %the  strings  about  that  thick  [indicating 
with  point  of  pen  knife].  I  counted  forty-seven  licks,  and 
some  other  man  says  they  hit  him  sixty-five,  but  I  counted 
forty-seven,  and  left  because  I  got  nervous,  hearing  him  hol- 
lering so  and  the  terrible  groans.  You  could  hear  the  licks 
clear  across  the  yard  every  time  they  hit  him,  and  after  they 
catted  him  they  took  him  over  to  the  shop  and  worked  him 
that  afternoon.  He  was  taken  over  to  the  hospital  the  next 
morning.  Friday  he  was  licked  and  Saturday  he  went  to  the 
hospital  to  get  excused. 

Q.     How  long  ago  did  this  happen  ? 

A.  By  being  here  so  long  it  appears  like  things  happened 
only  yesterday  that  happened  years  ago ;  I  think  it  has  been 
5  or  6  years  ago. 

Q.     Who  did  the  catting? 

A.  Captain  Craig  is  the  one  who  punished  him ;  he  used 
the  cat  himself;  he  done  all  the  catting  here. 

Q.     Was  he  excused  on  Saturday  ? 


145 

A.  He  was  excused  sometime  during  the  day  ;  lie  worked 
part  of  the  day  that  day,  and  they  took  him  over  to  the  cell 
house  sometime  on  Saturday.  I  was  acting  librarian  then,  and 
I  came  along  by  his  cell  Sunday  morning,  and  Mungo  told  me 
he  was  sick,  and  I  seen  his  eyes  was  all  bloodshot.  He  asked 
if  I  wouldn't  go  and  see  the  doctor  for  him;  I  told  him  I 
would.  So  I  went  down  and  told  the  guard  that  Mungo 
wanted  to  see  him  to  go  to  the  hospital.  Then  I  went  on  to  the 
hospital  and  saw  Dr.  Sherrod,  and  I  told  him  that  Mungo  was 
up  in  the  cell  there  sick,  and  his  eyes  were  all  bloodshot,  and 
he  wanted  to  see  him.  I  don't  know  who  went  and  got  him, 
but  anyhow  they  brought  him  up  to  the  hospital,  and  he  was 
entered,  I  think,  from  Sunday  about  10  o'clock  until,  I  believe, 
it  was  Monday  morning ;  I  won't  be  certain  whether  it  was 
Monday  or  Tuesday.  Arthur  JBissett  was  acting  as  hospital 
steward  then.  We  went  over  to  his  bed  and  took  some  sweet 

v  oil  and  rubbed  his  back  with  it.  Arthur  asked  me  if  I  would 
not  help  him.  I  told  him  yes;  and  I  helped  him  there,  put  some 
on>  and  his  back  was  just  cut  all  to  pieces.  You  never  saw 
such  a  sight,  gentlemen.  The  lashes  went  around  under  his 
stomach  ;  the  end  of  the  lash  stopped  there,  and  from  the  end 
of  the  lash  about  an  inch  and  a  half  it  was  turned  blue. 
Q.  Was  the  flesh  lacerated  ? 

A.  It  was  a  perfect  jelly,  perfect  blue  mass,  just  like  if  you 
would  mash  blood  blister.  Around  under  the  stomach  here 
where  these  strokes  struck,  they  were  all  black  and  blue,  and 
it  was  turning  purplish  blue.  That  was  on  Sunday  it  com- 
menced turning  that  way.  I  says  to  Arthur  Bissett,  the 

:  Steward:  "Ain't  there  mortification  setting  in."  Well,  he 
looked  at  it,  nodded  his  head,  and  "  That's  just  what  it  is."  We 
turned  arid  rubbed  it,  that  was  late  in  the  evening,  and  he  kept 
at  it  all  night.  Mungo  would  jump  and  raise  in  his  bed,  with 
a  wild  look  in  his  eyes.  Of  course,  I  was  in  bed.  I  did  not 
go  over  to  him,  but  the  nurse  would  lay  him  back  in  the  bed 
and  ask  what  is  the  matter,  and  he  would  roll  on  his  side  and 
halloo  :  "  Oh,  my  God,  kill  me,  kill  me,  I  am  just  dying  with 
misery."  The  boys  went  over  to  him,  told  him  not  to  make  so 
much  noise,  remonstrated  with  him  to  keep  as  quiet  as  he 
could,  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  other  patients.  Every  once  in 
a  while,  he  would  break  out  and  jerk  himself,  spring  up  in  bed, 
getting  almost  on  his  feet.  The  nurse  would  go  and  catch  him, 
10 — PRISON. 


146 

and  set  him  down  in  bed;  The  next  morning  just  before 
breakfast,  Mungo  came  into  the  water-closet,  an.d  sat  down 
on  the  water-stool  there,  with  his  hands  on  his  head  in  that 
way  [indicating],  and  I  come  along  and  said  :  "  Mungo,  how 
do  you  feel  this  morning?"  He  just  looked  up  at  me  and  shook 
his  head  a  little.  I  caught  hold  of  his  hand.  "Do  you  feel 
like  eating  anything?"'  He  said  :  "  Oh,  my  God,  Mack,  don't 
ask  me."  He  went  to  raise  his  pants.  I  took  hold  of  his  pants 
and  helped  him  up.  Arthur  Bissett  came  in,  and  I  believe  a 
man  named  gurnet.  I  said:  "  Boys;  take  hold  of  him,"  and 
we  took  him  to  his  bed.  He  said  :  "  Don't  lay  me  on  my  back, 
for  God's  sake."  He  just  turned  over  on  the  edge  of  his  belly 
and  didn't  lay  half  a  minute  till  he  sprung  up  and  fell  back 
dead.  By  the  strokes  being  on  the  spinal  column  on  the  seven 
nerves  connected  with  the  heart  on  the  back  here.  They  ex- 
tend over  the  heart  back  under  the  shoulder;  by  them  being 
bruised,  and  the  blood  bruised,  mortification  set  in.  Mortifica- 
tion is  what  killed  him. 

Q.     Can  you  refer  us  to  men  who  know  about  this  matter  ? 

A.  Captain  Harveston,  and  Rev.  M.  E.  Boring.  In  regard 
to  O'Neil,  you  can  send  for  Carnaham ;  he  knows  about  his  work- 
ing in  the  shop.  Mr.  Lyons  was  the  foreman,  and  Mr.  Good- 
man was  the  guard  that  reported  him. 

Q.     What  do  you  think  was  his  trouble  ?  , 

A.  I  don't  know  whether  it  was  the  bronchial  tubes  or 
whether  it  was  asthma,  but  that  was  my  belief.  From  the 
action  of  the  man  I  think  it  was  asthma,  and  the  throat  was 
the  cause  of  his  trouble. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  any  rotten  meat  being  brought 
in  here? 

A.  Rotten  meat  was  brought  in,  and  it  had  maggots — full- 
grown  skippers — and  the  man  sitting  right  side  of  me,  by  the 
name  of  Wilkerson,  lives  in  Jennings  County,  was  here  for  one 
year  for  buying  votes,  a  United  States  prisoner;  he  went  out 
and  commenced  vomiting,  and  the  boys  commenced  speaking 
about  the  meat,  and  knowing  I  was  in  the  office  a  great  deal — 
I  was  then  Librarian — spoke  to  me  about  the  meat,  and  said  : 
"  Don't  you  see  it  is  rotten  ;  don't  you  see  the  maggots  ?  Why 
in  hell  don't  you  tell  the  Warden?  "  I  said,  "  Why  don't  you 
tell  him?"  Well,  the  next  day  the  meat  was  rotten  again. 
This  time  it  was  "  salt  horse  " — corn  beef.  •  Captain  Howard 


147' 

was  running  a  butcher  shop  then,  him  and  George,  and  they 
would  hring  in  the  meat  from  this  pork-house.  When  the  boys 
seen  this  meat  they  stuck  it  under  my  nose  again,  and  asked 
me  if  I  had  showed  it  to  the  Warden.  I  told  them  no,  I  did 
not.  I  brought  a  piece  in  here  and  showed  it  to  Rev.  M.  E. 
Boring,  Chaplain,  and  when  I  stuck  it  under  his  nose  he  reared 
back.  He  told  me  to  take  it  in  to  the  Warden.  I  went  in  to 
show  it  to  the  Warden;  he  was  riot  around  here  any  place.  I 
spoke  to  Mr;  Huette,  the  Clerk,  but  he  would  not  look  at  it. 
He  said  it  was  none  of  his  business  ;  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  it 
at  all.  He  says:  "Mack,  I  can  not  do  anything;  I  have  noth- 
ing to  say."  That  meat  come  right  across  from  over  there. 
Lynn  and  I  both  was  right  over  there  in  the  pork-house  and 
seen  them  salt  it;  went  there  on  purpose  to  see  it.  Captain 
Howard  asked  the  prisoner  over  there  that  was  butchering, 
"Did  you  salt  that  meat;  you  are  certain  you  made  a  stiff 
v brine  of  it?"  He  said  "Yes,  sir."  It  was  already  spoilt,  and 
would  slip  when  we  lifted  it  out  of  the  brine.  When  they  were 
cooking  the  meat  you  could  smell  it  all  over  the  yard.  I  went 
to  the  cook  and  asked  him,  "  Why  in  the  d- — 1  do  you  cook  that 
meat ;  you  know  that  meat  is  rotten  ?  ':  He  said,  "  Mack,  they 
know  it  is  rotten  1  I  have  orders  to  cook  it,  and  you  know  I 
can't  help  myself.  I  will  put  it  on  the  table  if  it  stinks  every 
man  in  the  dining-room." 

Q.     How  often  did  that  occur? 

A.  Every  time  we  had  beef,  pretty  near.-  I  showed  some  of 
this  meat  to  Dr.  Sherrod,  and  I  says,  "Doctor,  you  control  the 
cooking  of  this  meat."  He  said,  "  H —  and  d— ,  they  pay  no 
more  attention  to  what  I  have  to  say  than  they  do  to  you."  I 
took  this  meat  down  and  told  Dr.  Hunter  about  it,  showed  him 
the  meat,  and  he  jumped  on  the  Warden  about  it.  The  Doctor 
told  me  the  Warden  told  him  the  butcher  imposed  upon  him. 
I  told  him  he  had  been  imposed  upon  for  a  good  while — five  or 
six  years.  Captain  Howard  promised  Dr.  Hunter  it  never 
should  occur  again. 

Q.     And  then  did  it  occur? 

A.     It  did  not  occur  very  often  after  Dr.  Hunter  came  in. 
By  Mr.  Patten  : 

Q.  State  if  Dr.  Nbrvel!  interested  himself  in  having  the  use 
of  the  cat  abolished. 

.      .     .  ..,.-.-.  :  .  •   '    .'  .       " 


148 

A.  Well,  I  could  not  say.  I  never  knowed  a  man  talk  tr> 
any  of  these  Directors  and  get  anything  out  of  them. 

Q.     How  long  is  it  since  they  catted  anybody  ? 

Q.  Not  since  three  years  ago,  the  27th  of  October,  the  last  I 
know  of. 

Q.     Has  the  treatment  of  men  been  any  better  ? 

A.  Before  Dr.  Hunter  came  it  was  terrible,  since  then  it 
has  been  better. 

Q.  Dr.  Hunter  and  Dr.  Norvell  were  elected  at  the  same 
time. 

A.  Yes,  sir;  Dr.  Norvell,  when  he  first  started  in,  for  the 
first  year  and  a  half,  everything  went  ort  all  right,  but  after 
Captain  Howard  was  re-elected,  you  might  as  well  talk  to  a 
post.  There  haven't  been  any  Directors  here  for  the  last  two 
years. 

William  Christenberry  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  aa. 
follows : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Alexander  :  How  long  have  you  been  here  ? 

A.     Fifteen  years. 

Q.     How  long  did  you  come  for? 

A.     For  life ;  for  murder. 

Q.     From  what  county  ? 

A.     Owen. 

Q.     Did  you  know  a  man  in  the  Prison  named  O'Neil? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  do  you  know,  if  anything,  about  this  man  O'Neil 
having  been  punished  here  at  any  time? 

A.  I  know  he  was  punished.  I  was  working  at  the  hos- 
pital at  the  time  he  was  brought  up  there.  Six  years  ago  this 
month,  a  man  came  there  and  reported  there  was  a  man  found 
dead  at  the  door.  The  doctor  told  him  he  could  not  bring  a 
dead  man  back  to  life.  They  brought  him  up  there.  He  was 
dead  when  they  brought  him.  His  arms  were  stiff  and  stayed 
up,  and  then  when  you  press  them  down  to  his  body,  they 
would  fly  up  in  the  same  position  [indicating]. 

Q.     What  did  you  help  do  with  the  body,  if  anything  ? 

A.     I  helped  wash  it  and  dress  it  for  burial. 

Q.     Was  McDonald  Cheek  there  at  the  time  ? 

A.     I  think  he  was  working  in  the  hospital. 

Q.     Dr.  McClure,  was  he  there? 


149 

A.  Dr.  Jesse  McClure  was  there  ;  yes,  sir.  Dr.  Sherrod  was 
head  physician. 

Q.     What  did  you  liear  Dr.  Sherrod  say  about  this  man  ? 

A.  They  pronounced  it  heart  disease,  and  after  they  went 
away  the  doctor  said  there  was  no  more  heart  disease  about  that 
man  than  there  was  about  him. 

Q.     Who  was  it  pronounced  it  heart  disease  ? 

A.  Jesse  McClure  and  the  coroner,  Jacob  Ross.  They  went 
there  and  kind  of  made  an  investigation. 

Q.     Did  the  Coroner  examine  any  witnesses? 

A.     Some  few  of  the  guards. 

Q.     Do  you  know  what  this  man  was  punished  for  ? 

A.     For  not  being  able  to  do  his 'work. 

Q.     What  about  his  being  sick? 

A.  He  was  sick,  and  the  doctor  had  excused  him  and  sent 
him  to  the  cell-house  sick,  and  they  took  and  chained  him  up 
in  the  cell  unbeknownst  to  Dr.  Sherrod,  who  had  excused  him 
and  sent  him  to  the  cell-house  as  a  sick  man  not  able  for  duty. 

Q.  You  say  the  Coroner  pretended  to  make  an  investigation, 
and  Dr.  McClure  said  it  waslieart  disease? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  What  do  you  know  of  one  of  these  guards,  Hilliard, 
and  Dr.  Sherrod  having  a  quarrel  about  it? 

A.  I  heard  such  as  that,  but  could  not  say  whether  they  did 
or  not. 

Q.  Where  did  they  keep  this  dead  man,  in  the  dead-house, 
until  they  buried  him  ? 

A.  Yes,  sir,  after  they  brought  him  from  the  cell.  The 
Legislative  Committee  was  here  the  very  morning  they  brought 
him  down.  They  seen  him — a  portion  of  them  ;  not  all. 

Q.     Did  they  cut  him  open  and  examine  him  ? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Did  they  take  his  heart  and  lungs  out? 

A.  I  could  not  tell ;  1  was  not  there.  I  seen  his  heart  there 
when  I  went  to  dress  him  for  burial.  His  hands  would  not 
stay  down  on  his  body  so  as  to  keep  them  down. 

Q.     How  long  after  he  died  was  it  that  he  was  buried? 

A.     They  kept  him  there  one  night,  and  I  ain't  sure  but  two. 

Q.  Was  there  anything  said  about  being  in  a  hurry  and 
getting  him  dressed  and  getting  the  shroud? 

A.     No,  sir,  nothing  said  of  it  that  I  heard. 


150 

Q.  Do  you  know  how  long  this  man  was  up  there  in  this 
cage? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  ain't  positive.  It  was  about  seven  or  eight 
days  from  the  time  the  doctor  excused  him  that  they  brought 
him  down  dead.  Whether  he  was  in  the  cage  all  that  time  I 
could  not  say. 

Q.  Did  you  ever  hear  Captain  Howard  say  anything  about 
it? 

A.     I  never  heard  Captain  Howard  open  his  mouth  about  it. 

Q.     Did  you  know  a  man  named  Mungo? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.  And  about  his  being  catted.  Do  you  know  the  number 
of  strokes? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  did  not  count  the  strokes,  but  the  catting 
must  have  continued  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  if  not  longer. 

Q.     Did  you  see  him  after  he  was  catted  ? 
'  A.     Not  for  some  time  afterward. 

Q.     How  long  after? 

A.     It  was,  I  suppose,  a  week  or  ten  days. 

Q.     Did  you  see  his  body? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  did  not  see  the  body.  I  did  not  see  him  after 
he  was  dead. 

Q.  When  you  did  see  him,  what  seemed  to  be  his  condi- 
tion ? 

A.     He   said  they  had  ruined  him  catting  him.     Said  they 

had  broken   something  inside  of  him.     He  never  showed  me 

, 
any  marks. 

Q.  What  aBout  any  other" persons  being  catted? 

A.  That  was  a  frequent  case. 

Q.  How  long  is  it  since  anybody  was  catted  ? 

A.  Four  years  and  over,  as  I  understand. 

Q.  What  kind  of  a  cat  is  it  ? 

A.  Heavy  blacksnake  stock,  from  nine  to  ten  cat-tails. 

Q.  Did  they  give  it  to  you? 

A.  Yes,  once. 

Q.  How  was  it  done  ? 

A.  You  are  perfectly  naked,  with  the  exception  of  your 
pants,  and  get  down  on  your  hands  and  knees.  John  Craig 
did  the  catting.  The  man  that  whips  stands  behind. 

Q.  How  many  li<*ks  did  they  give  you  ? 

A.  Seven. 


151 

Q.     Did  it  cut  the  skin  ? 

A.  Opened  it  like  a  knife  every  time  I  was  struck.  It  was 
sore  for  two  weeks.  Never  put  anything  on  it  except  a  little 
liniment  oil  I  got  myself. 

Q.     What  were  you  punished  for? 

A.  I  was  at  work  in  the  foundry  at  the  time.  The  con- 
tractors gave  me  permission  to  go  into  the  carpenter  shop  for 
kindling  wood  to  build  a  fire  in  the  cupola,  and  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Isgregg  was  foreman  of  the  shop,  and  he  told  me  that 
hereafter  I  would  always  find  my  kindling  wood  at  that  end  of 
the  bench  ;  so  I  went  there  to  get  the  wood,  and  he  reported 
me  for  getting  wood  without  permission.  We  got  into  some 
words  about  it.  I  said,  "  Mr.  Isgregg,  if  I  was  a  free  man  you 
wouldn't  talk  that  way.  Mr.  Perin  told  me  I  could  have  the 
kindling  wood,  and  you  told  me  where  I  would  always  find  it." 
He  went  and  reported  me  for  "  sass."  Craig  would  not  listen 
to  me  at  all,  but  took  me  behind  the  cell-house  and  gave  me 
vthe  seven  licks.  The  knots  in  the  end  of  them  are  like  shot. 
They  sunk  into  the  flesh  just  like  a  bullet. 

Frank  Myers,  having  been  duly  sworn,  testified  as  follows: 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     How  long  have  you  been  here? 

A.     About  ten  years  and  seven  months. 

Q.     You  were  out  awhile  on  parole? 

A.     Yes,  sir;  I  was  out  not  quite  eleven  mouths. 

Q.  Was  you  here  at  the  time  the  rumor  was  in  circulation 
about  a  man  by  the  name  of  Goddard  that  was  cruelly  pun- 
ished, and  reported  that  he  was  burnt  in  the  furnace? 

A.     I  don't  remember  anything  of  the  circumstances. 

Q.     What  department  was  you  in? 

A.     I  worked  in  several  departments  here  in  my  time. 

Q.     You  have  been  here  all  of  the  time  Howard  was  Warden? 

A.  No,  sir.  I  am  not  certain  when  he  came  here.  I  came 
in  1875,  in  October,  and  my  recollection  is  he  came  in  June 
following. 

Q.  Well,  since  he  was  Warden,  do  you  remember  about  that 
circumstance  ? 

A.     I  don't  remember  anything  of  that  kind,  sir. 

Q.     How  does  it  happen  that  you  did  not  hear  the  report  ? 

A.  I  could  not  tell  you.  I  never  heard  of  a  man  being 
burnt  here  in  my  time. 

Q.     Did  you  know  of  the  death  of  Goddard? 


152 

A.  I  don't  know  the  man  at  all.  No,  sir ;  I  don't  recollect 
the  name  of  Goddard.  I  recollect  a  man  by  the  name  of  God- 
frey, but  Godfrey  went  out  here. 

Q.  Have  you  any  recollection  of  a  man  named  O'Neil,  who 
was  here  ? 

A.     I  have  heard  that  name. 

Q.     Do  you  know  anything  of  his  death. 

A.  No,  sir;  I  understood  he  died  in  the  cell.  Heard  that 
rumor.  That  is  all  I  know  about  it.  , 

Q.  Did  yon  know  of  a  convict  of  the  name  of  Mungo,  who 
died  here;  was  catted  five  or  six  years  ago. 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Did  you  ever  see  any  man  catted,  or  hear  him  catted  ? 

A.  I  never  saw  a  man  catted.  I  believe  I  did  hear  it  once, 
walking  on  the  outside  of  the  cell-house.  It  sounded  like 
something  of  that  kind. 

Q.     Was  it  usual  to  cat  men  ? 

A.     They  used  to  cat  men  here. 

Q.     Did  they  ever  punish  you  that  way  'I 

A.     No,  sir. 

Q.     Was  you  in  and  about  the  office  much  ? 

A.     I  worked  about  the  office  four  months  at  one  time. 

Q.     Was  you  a  trusty? 

A.     Yes,  sir,  part  of  the  time. 

Q.     In  what  department  did  you  work? 

A.  I  worked  at  Captain  Howard's  house  awhile,  and  then  I 
worked  at  the  barn. 

Q.     You  were  on  good  terms  with  Captain  Howard  ? 

A.     I  don't  know  on  what  kind  of  terms  I  was. 

Q.     How  did  he  treat  you? 

A.     He  treated  me  all  right. 

Q.     Was  you  ever  punished  ? 

A.  No,  sir,  I  can't  say  I  was  punished.  I  was  turned  in 
from  the  outside. 

Q.     What  for? 

A.  I  could  not  tell  you  what  that  was  for.  One  time  I  was 
turned  in  for  disobeying  his  rules ;  the  other  time  I  don't  know 
what  for. 

Q.  You  don't  know  anything  in  reference  to  these  men  we 
have  asked  you  about? 

A.     Not  a  thing,  sir. 


158 

Q.     How  long  are  you  sentenced  for? 

A.     Twenty-one  years. 

Q.     What  for? 

A.     Manslaughter. 

Q.  You  are  the  man  Governor  Gray  sent  back  after  being 
paroled? 

A.     Yes,  sir. 

Q.     Have  you  anything  to  state  before  the  committee? 

A.     I  have  no  grievances  to  make. 

George  Bachtel,  having  been  first  duly  sworn,  testified  as  fol- 
lows : 

Q.     By  Mr.  Patten  :     How  long  have  you  been  here? 

A.     Almost  twelve  years. 

Q.     How  long  were  you  sent  for  ? 

A.     For  life,  charged  with  murder. 

Q.     Do  you  recollect  anything  about  a  man  named  O'Neil  ? 
'     A.     Yes,    sir.     I   was  cook   in   th'e  Hospital  in  '80  and  re- 
mained there  until  March,  1881. 

Q.     Do  you  remember  when  O'Neil  died. 

A.  Yes.  O'Neil  was  brought  up  in  February,  1881.  He  was 
brought  up  to  the  Hospital  one  night  about  12  o'clock.  He 
was  sick.  In  the  morning  he  made  his  appearance  before  the 
Doctor  and  said  he  was  sick.  The  Doctor  told  him  there  was 
not  a  d —  thing  the  matter  with  him,  and  told  him  to  go  to  his 
shop.  The  man  said  he  was  not  able  to  go  to  his  shop,  and  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Jack  Hilliard,  guard  there,  said,  "Turn 
him  over  to  me  ;  I  will  make  him  work."  He  was  turned  over 
to  this  man.  He  was  taken  to  the  cage,  I  suppose,  for  three 
days  and  nights.  He  was  brought  back  dead. 

Q.     Did  you  see  him  after  he  was  dead? 

A.     I  did. 

Q.     State  what  condition  he  was  in. 

A.  I  could  not  tell  whether  he  was  a  white  man  or  a  nigger 
when  he  was  lying  in  bed — he  was  so  dirty. 

Q.     What  position? 

A.  I  saw  him  in  the  dead-room,  and  he  was  lying  with  his 
hands  over  his  head,  with  hands  locked  over  his  head.  His 
eyes  was  glaring.  I  said  the  man  was  not  dead.  He  was  stiff 
and  had  his  hands  set  there,  perfectly  tight.  When  they 
washed  his  hands,  they  placed  them  across  his  breast  and  tied 
a  string  around  his  body  to  hold  his  hand— keep  them  from  fly- 
ing back. 


154 

Q,     Did  you  see  any  post-mortem  examination  ? 

A.  There  were  three  doctors  down,  I  believe  from  Jeffer- 
son ville.  I  don't  know  as  I  could  give  their  names.  They 
held  a  post-mortem  over  him.  Took  his  inwards  out,  his 
heart,  lungs  and  liver;  toot  them  out  and  examined  them. 
They  gave  some  decision  before  the  Committee.  The  House 
Committee  was  here  that  day. 

Q.     Was  you.present  when  the  House  Committee  was  there? 

A.  Yes,  they  held  a  kind  of  inquest  in  the  hospital  ward, 
and  the  young  Dr.  McClure,  Steward,  was  there,  and  he  took 
his  heart  and  opened  it.  I  stayed  by  when  he  examined  it.  A 
man  by  the  name  of  McDonald  Cheek  helped  him  do  that. 
There  were  a  few  drops  of  clotted  blood  in  the  bottom  of  the 
heart.  I  believe  the  young  doctor  said  the  heart  had  a  little 
more  fat  on  than  usual.  He  said  he  had  a  perfect  set  of  lungs 
and  a  good  liver.  He  did^  not  give  any  decision  about  him  as 
to  what  was  the  cause  of  his  death. 

Q.     What  was  the  general  rumor  as  to  that? 

A.  The  general  rumor  all  over  the  prison  was  that  the  man 
died  in  the  cage. 

Senator  Eahrn,  having  heen  duly  sworn,  testified  that  he 
never  had  any  business  transaction  with  Director  Norvell,  or 
any  other  of  the  Directors  of  the  Prison,  and  that  no  telegram 
had  ever  been  sent  by  him  to  any  of  the  Directors,  nor  had  he 
ever  received  any  such  from  said  Directors,  and  that  all  state- 
ments made  to  the  contrary  were  false,  and  that  he  was  not 
connected  either  directly  or  indirectly  with  the  election  of  A. 
J.  Howard  as  Warden. 


155 


EXHIBIT  "  A." 


o.  1.] 

JEFFERSONVILLE,  lNi>.,-May  29,  1879. 

No.. 

FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK, 

OF  JEFFERSONVILLE, 

Pay  to  A.  J.  Howard,  Warden,  or  order,  six  thousand  dollars. 
$6,000.  I..B.  MERIWETHER. 

[Indorsed  as  follows :] 

A.  J.  HOWARD,  Warden. 

Pay  W.  H.  Fogg,  cashier,  or  order,  for  collection  for  Citizens' 
National  Bank,  Jefferson ville,  Ind. 

JOHN  ADAMS,  Cashier. 

[No.  2.]  . 
JEFFERSONVILLE,  IND.,  Sept.  16,  1879. 

{  stamp.  }          FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK, 

OF  JEFFERSONVILLE, 

Pay  to  James  G.  Harrison  (costs,  etc.,)  or  order,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  dollars.      $129. 

I.  B.  MERIWETHER. 

[Indorsed  as  follows :] 

JAMES  G.  HARRISON. 
Credit  accepted. 

FIRST  NATIONAL  BANK,  NEW  ALBANY,  IND., 

WM.  N.  MAHON,  Cashier. 

[No.  2.]  Costs  in  suits  of  N.  W.  Car  Company  at  the  suit  of 
the  Warden  of  the  Prison,  wherein  he  claimed  that  certain  fix- 
tures erected  hy  the  company  belonged  to  the  State,  because 
being  attached  to  the  realty,  and  which  was  decided  against 
the  Warden,  and  in  which  suit  the  Warden  paid  all  the  costs, 
but  not  a  part  of  the  $6,000. 


156 


EXHIBIT  «  B.' 


BILLS    PAYABLE. 

M.  V.  McCann,  coal $1,642  45 

Payne  &  Ragsdale,  provisions 786  25 

E.  C.  Eaken  &  Co.,  groceries 1,474  81 

.Lewman  Bros.,  drugs  and  hardware 673  82 

Jefferson ville  Gas  Company,  gas 324  00 

Perin  &  Gaff,  merchandise 147  93 

Sundry  newspapers,  labor  advertisements 185  82 

Geo.  Willacy,  queensware 30  80 

O.  F.  Zimmerman,  (?) « 40  25 

Myers  &  Bros.,  lumbermen 45  12 

Chas.  Nagle,  ice 25  00 

J.  H.  Zinsmeister  &  Bro.,  groceries 34  05 

L.  P.  Byland,  teamster 151  50 

E.  J.  Howard,  lumber 156  42 

Ahrens  &  Ott,  pumps,  etc 74  30 

Geo.  H.  Frank,  saddlery 34  00 

Geo.  Hulzbog,  carriage-maker k  33  70 

J.  H.  Hodapp,  produce 178  65 

P.  Treacy,  grocery 3  44 

Oglesby  &  Dustin,  produce 65  50 

B.  F.  Babbitt,soap 38  99 

Ohio  Valley  Telegraph  Company,  dispatches 8  90 

G.  W.  Baxter,  Deputy  Warden 6  80 

A.  M.  Bloom,  meats 1,134  00 

Salaries  for  November 2,229  82 

Salaries  for  December 2,512  23 

Salaries  for  January 2,528  47 

Seymour  Woolen  Factory,  balance 371  90 

Total $14,938  92 

Seymour  Woolen  Factory $1,025  33 


YB  24549 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

DOCUMENTS  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


MAR  25  1 


MAR 


LD  21-20m-8,'61 
(C1795slO)476 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

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